Halloween: Tales from the Crypt
by ShadowsWeaver1
Summary: A chilling Ghost story in the Halloween spirit. Enjoy my Ghouls and Goblins
1. Going Home

Going Home 

"Thanks, Kaede. I promise I'll give them back tomorrow."

"Do not fret, child," The old priestess replied with a warm smile for her young apprentice. "Ye may return the garments whenever it is convenient for ye."

Returning Kaede's smile, Kagome bid the old woman farewell and stepped out of the hut. The sun was setting, casting the small village in a blanketing red glow, and Kagome's smile brightened. Soon, night would be upon them, soon the fun would begin. Her bright smile of anticipation never leaving her lips, the young miko turned away from the small village and began the short journey towards the Bone Eater's Well.

Once clear of the village, she broke into a light jog to bring her to her destination more quickly. She could see her breath catching in the crisp autumn air, coming out in soft plumes of white fog as she ran. But with the heavy layers of the hakama and kimono that she had borrowed from Kaede billowing around her, she was quite warm. Of course, normally, Kagome refrained from wearing the traditional garbs of the Miko, but for this night she was more than happy to don the old styles. Completing her ensemble, slug comfortably across her shoulder, were her bow and arrow set, handy things when one is constantly facing down any number of demons and other such threats.

The thought of demons made the young miko smile anew, only this time there was a darkness to it, a wickedness that carried into the depths of her sapphire eyes. How many would she see tonight? She couldn't help but wonder. Would they be frightening, gruesome, terrible visages of the dead and the not quite living? A tremor of anticipation raced through her and her smile spread. Witches, ghouls, goblins, ghosts, monsters and demons of all kinds; she knew she was sure to encounter them on this night, and she couldn't wait.

She was close now. Ahead, beyond the next rise, she could see the towering branches of the God Tree stretching into the sky. Even with the coming winter, still the sacred tree held onto its leaves, creating a magnificent array of color, of red and orange, yellow and brown, all mixed together in an array so intricate even the finest paint brushes couldn't create strokes of such vibrancy.

Then, suddenly, felt only by her heightened senses, she began to feel the presence of a youkai. It was like a howl upon the winds, a low rumble shaking through the earth, a strong pulse of heat from the demon fires. Kagome cursed softly under her breath and pushed herself to go faster. Only a little further, she told herself. Only a few more steps.

The dense covering of trees around her broke apart to reveal a clearing filled with lush grasses, and Kagome pushed herself harder still, determined to make the last few strides to reach the well before the demon would be upon her. The howling of its aura grew louder as it crashed against her mystical senses, but she forced herself to ignore it, forced herself to keep going. She was so close!

A sudden burst of cold wind cutting across her path drew the young miko to an abrupt halt. She sighed dejectedly, knowing that she had been caught, and reluctantly she lifted her eyes to look upon her would be captor. He stood before her, his long mane of silver tresses whipping around him on the winds stirred by his passing and his golden eyes trained upon her intently, sharp and focused, but holding in them a darker tone, a clash of amber within the flawless gold that made Kagome wonder.

His stiff posture sagged, almost as though his sturdy shoulders were being forced to bear a weight they simply could not sustain. And then his lips parted, a name slipping past them on a breath of longing.

"Kikyo…"

Furious outrage swept through the young miko on a hot pulse of blinding fury. Her chest constricted almost painfully, and her breath slipped out of her in a strained hiss. "How dare you." Her accusation was carried on a voice so dark it hardly seemed her own, but her fury could not be contained. "SIT!!"

Even as the hanyou was subjected to the painful pull of the livid miko's subjugation, he had resigned himself to the punishment. Too late he had realized that the woman he was seeing who bore such a resemblance to his once love was really the young miko from the future, the one that had given him friendship and companionship when no other would or could, the one he had betrayed so very often for the woman from whom she had been reincarnated from. Filled with regret for his error and the pain he knew he caused her by such a simple mistake, Inuyasha knew even as his body slammed into the ground by the force of her command that any hope he might have had in stopping her from returning to her time had been lost to him.

Still, that wasn't going to stop the hanyou from growling out his objection from his prone position on the ground. "You fucking bitch! What the hell…??!!"

"Don't you even!" Kagome fumed down at the struggling hanyou trying to remove himself from his crated of self-inflicted pain. "After all this time you would still, STILL mistake me for her! SIT!!" She screamed the word of his subjugation again, not willing to allow him room for movement or even a slight reprieve.

Inuyasha growled again, the sound muffled against the dirt. "Wench!" he barked, starting his struggles against the subjugation spell anew. "It ain't my fault! Since when do you dress like you're actually a miko?"

"Like I'm actually…??!!" Kagome voice tailed off with a low growl of her own. "You ungrateful mutt! How dare you! SIT!!" Again Inuyasha was slammed hard into the ground at her feet. He groaned miserably, but Kagome paid him no heed. She leaned closer to him, her voice dropping into a dark whisper. "If I'm such a sorry excuse for a miko, then maybe you should start looking for someone else to help you gather the Shikon shards."

"Kagome…"

"No!" she cut him off sharply. "I don't want to hear it!" Pulling back to her full height, the young miko turned away from the hanyou and began walking towards the well. "I'm going home," she told him over her shoulder. "And if you have any brain cells left in that thick skull of yours, you will not follow me!"

With that said, she grabbed ahold of the lip of the well and used the enchanted wood to pull herself over and take the plunge into its depths.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Home at last, Kagome paused just within the doors of the well house to take a few long draughts of air to dispel her anger. But, as she stood within the shadows of the small enclosure, she began to hear the joyous calls of children echoing through the courtyard beyond. There was laughter in those voices, happy and careless; but there was a tightness as well, one born of a fear that could only come on this night, one created by the fear of things lurking in the shadows and the exhilaration of straining to see what it was.

Her spirits lifting almost immediately, Kagome shook away the last of her hard feelings and pushed open the door. Outside, night had already begun to cloak the world in its shadows, casting long pillars of mystery from every structure, creating new places of fear and excitement for the children at play. She could see them now, see the young ones scampering across the large courtyard of the shrine, their shrill voices lifting up in startled fright for an instant before being taken over by outrageous giggles of mirth and play.

She wanted to laugh with them, their joy contagious in the dying light, a lifeline of hope that fought against the dark shadows. But it was the shadows that she was chasing on this night, it was the darkness that called to be heard, it was fear itself that she sought.

And on this night, above all others, she knew she would find it. For tonight was All Hallows Eve.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wow…I've been away for so long that it actually feels weird to be writing again. Though, for anyone who's hoping that this story signals my return, I'm afraid I can't really say that I'm ready for it. For those of you who don't know, I had an accident that basically crippled my right hand for almost two months, and which is still in the process of healing. Being away from my writing for so long seems to have stolen my muses along with my desire to write whatever it is they whisper to me. But no matter the difficulties I have had recently that have prevented me from writing; I still couldn't resist the temptation to write a good Halloween spookfest. So, I sincerely hope everyone enjoys.

Shadow

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, just my own twisted imagination that like to torment the wonderful characters


	2. Demon in the Shrine

Demon in the Shrine

"Halt, Demon!"

The woman's voice cut through the night, hard and strong and filled with conviction. The commotion around her suddenly stilled, all waiting on baited breath to see what would happen next.

A terrible, rasping roar cascaded across the courtyard, sending shivers of fear to run down every spine. Then, from out of the shadows being cast by the magnificent tree, the giant, hulking form lumbered into view. It was a hideous monstrosity of bulging limbs and sickly scaled skin dripping with putrid slime. Its crimson bled eyes burned with fury as it set its sights on the brave woman that stood before it. And again, the terrible roar was heard, trembling across the walls in a quaking echo.

But the woman held her ground. In her steady hands her longbow was drawn tight, the deadly tip of her arrow aimed directly at the beast. Again her voice lifted to cut into the still night air. "Demon, be gone!"

Still the creature roared, the sound hideous and repulsive, causing many to cover their ears. It rose up, gaining impossible height as it towered over the courtyard. The monster, the demon, the thing of nightmares come to life; it stood before the gathering it all of its terrible glory.

The sharp _snap_ of a bowstring suddenly filled the air, causing the onlookers to take in a startled breath which held as they watched the priestess's arrow miraculously become immersed in a brilliant pink light to streak the distance between her and her target. When it reached the beast, it was enveloped in the creatures horrible bulk of a body, its brilliance seemingly lost in the hideous darkness.

A stillness followed, a breathless moment of anticipation. And then, with one final roar of fury, the creature lurched, its body shuddering in anguish. From where the creature had stood erupted an explosion of light, blinding to those standing too near. It showered down into the courtyard, the brilliant flame dying and being carried away into the night.

The creature was no more. On the ground where it had stood, now only remained a pile of blackened ash.

Cheers arose all around, voices calling out in elation and relief. The demon had been brought down by the hand of purity.

With a gentle smile lifting on her lips, the priestess turned to greet the gathering crowd. She accepted their praises and gratitude with humble thanks and gracious bows for a moment or two. But her calling was needed elsewhere, she explained softly to those around her, and turned away from the battlefield.

- - - - - - - - - -

"That was the best show ever, Kagome! I think Kiran actually peed his pants!"

Laughing softly at her brother's exuberance, Kagome gave him a sly wink. "I told you I could pull it off, didn't I? But don't forget to thank Mom and Gramps too. Mom worked for almost two weeks to stitch together that demon over the wooden frame, and Gramps…" She shook her head lightly. "I don't even want to know how he got his hands on enough explosives for that amazing pyrotechnics display."

"Yeah!" Souta agreed with a wicked grin. "Everyone's going to be talking about this at school tomorrow! We're going to be the talk of the town! The Shrine of the Demon Slayers!"

Pulling his plastic sword from his belt, Souta began leaping about stabbing into the air at invisible demons. "Tetsusaiga!" He called out as his battle cry, emulating his newfound hero, the hanyou boy in blazing red named Inuyasha.

For a moment, Kagome allowed herself to enjoy her brother's enthusiastic attempt to recreate on of Inuyasha's more devastating attacks. But it was getting late, and though the children that had gathered at the shrine earlier for their performance were thinning out and heading back to their homes, those no longer children but not yet willing to give up on the dark magic of the evening were beginning to come out and play.

"I'm sorry, Souta," she finally interrupted his game, "But I've got to get going."

The boy pulled himself back from his next swing of his plastic blade to face his sister. He smirked at her devilishly. "Got some big plans tonight?" he asked suspiciously. "With _Hoooooojo_?"

"Souta!" Kagome scolded him.

But he just laughed. "Come on, Kagome. Everyone knows that guy is totally hot for you! And I bet Yuka's got something or other planned. She always does."

Kagome scowled hard at her brother. "Annoying little twerp. Mind your own business." Though, in her mind, she was silently praying that Yuka really didn't have any plans on hooking her up with Hojo. At least not tonight. Tonight was a night for the girls. "I'm outta here," she told her brother with a slight wave of her hand, and not waiting for his response, she turned and walked away.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"We saw the show, Kagome!" Eri cried with a small bounce of delight. The motion caused her breasts to bounce dangerously in the low-cut tattered dress she was wearing, but she only pulled her heavy cloak around her shoulders more securely before continuing. "It was incredible!" Her words were slurred slightly due to the set of plastic fangs she was holding in her mouth, but the frightening image of the vampire she was trying to convey was sorely corrupted by her wide, toothy grin.

"Yes," agreed Ayumi. Unlike Eri, Ayumi wasn't dressed to frighten. She wore a billowing gown of soft pink, the fairy princess costume completed by the sparkling wings extending from her back and the long silver wand she held in her hands. "You and your family really outdid yourselves this year."

"What I want to know is how you got your arrow to glow like that," Yuka cut in from her friend's praises. Like Eri, she wore a tattered black dress, but she had added a long silver wig and a sharply pointed hat to the ensemble. Complete with a long, crooked, nose of plastic and a heavy layer of green face paint, she looked every bit a wicked witch. "I mean, I got the explosions and I could basically see you mother's stitch work on that 'Demon', but the arrow…"

"Oh, come on, Yuka!" Kagome chided with a trace of glee. "I can't go sharing all my secrets with you. Where would the mystery, the adventure, the fun be then?"

Yuka tilted her long, crooked nose in the air at that. "Fine then," she huffed shortly. "If you won't tell me, then I won't tell you where we're going for this year's Halloween excursion."

Kagome's jaw dropped wide in disbelief. "You can't not tell me!" she whined.

Yuka smirked wickedly, causing the thick layer of paint she wore to crease deeply and give her an even more wicked appearance. "Too late, Kagome. Now you're just going to have to wait until we get there." Turning away quickly from her now gaping friend, Yuka gestured sharply for Eri and Ayumi to follow as she made her way towards the stairs leading down from the Higurashi Shrine.

"But…But…" Kagome stuttered as she watched her friends go.

"Come on, Kagome!" Eri called back from the top of the stairs. "Halloween awaits!"

Finally stirred from her unproductive stuttering, Kagome quickly ran to catch up with her friends. She may not have known where they were going, but she knew well enough to know that Yuka always had the best plans for Halloween night. As she chased after her friends down the long stairway leading to the street below, she was filled again with restless anticipation for what was still to come on this haunting night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alright, I guess that's all for tonight. Like last year, I'm going to try to get the end of the story out by Halloween night….but if anyone remembers last year, they also remember that I was a day late with the final post. Still, I'm gong to try.

Until then, Happy Hauntings!

Shadow


	3. A Chilling Warning

A Chilling Warning

_**- Whoo-Who-Whooooooo -**_

"Eri, would you get off of me!" Yuka shoved the other girl away from herself in distaste. "It's just an owl!"

"An owl?" Eri ask in a trembling voice, her eyes skirting anxiously through the thick trees lining the roadway. "Since when are there owls this close to the city?"

"Technically, we're not in the city anymore," Kagome said slowly as she too looked around at their surroundings.

The cab they had taken had let them out on an old roadway just west of the city limits. Though there were still streetlamps dotting the stretch of road, they were spaced far apart from each other, leaving long stretches of darkness between each, made even more impenetrable by the thick shadows cast by the large trees on the right side of the road which kept even the light of the moon and stars from illuminating their path. Ahead, the road stretched into the night, seeming to disappear beyond the sharp rises in the land which signaled the beginnings of the highlands that sloped their way upwards the Great Mountain's peak. And away from the blinding lights of the city, Great Fuji rose above them as a hulking shadow against the night sky, a looming juggernaut still so distant but so massive it eclipsed the horizon.

Kagome looked over to Yuka speculatively. "I think you might be loosing your touch, Yuka. We're in the middle of nowhere. And this…" She gestured vaguely around at the dark stretch of road and the thick mass of trees creating a forest that couldn't hope to compare to the denseness of those she had encountered during her adventures in the feudal era. "This is hardly my idea of scary."

"Well, it certainly seems to be scaring Eri," Yuka replied with a smirk as she cast a sidelong glance at her still shaking friend. "Besides," she waved off Kagome's comment. "This isn't what we're here for."

Ayumi took a small step forewords, her long dress swishing softly with the movement. "Then what are we here for, Yuka?" she asked quietly. "You haven't told any of us what you have planned for tonight. And…" She paused for a moment to look around, a soft shiver coursing through her as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. "I don't like being this far away from…"

"From what?" Yuka cut in sharply. "Home? Is the little mama's girl afraid of the big bad countryside?"

"Yuka…" Kagome whispered in warning. She was crossing one too many boundaries with her taunts.

"What?" she asked defensively as she spun to face Kagome. Her eyes were hard and dark. "So they're scared? So what? That's the point, isn't it? It's Halloween! Where's your sense of adventure? Or did you leave it at home too, along with your stupid glowing arrows?"

Kagome bristled, but said nothing. Contrary to what Yuka believed, the plain-looking, wooden arrows held in her quiver were the exact same as the arrow she had loosed at her family shrine. Of course, she wasn't about to tell her that. "Whatever," she finally relented. "But now that we're here, why don't you start spilling this great plan of yours?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Eri, who had found her way back into the conversation. "And how about telling us what you've been lugging around in that bag all night?" She pointed to the large black sack that Yuka was holding, but her friend only tightened her hold on the bag and drew it closer for safekeeping.

"Not yet, my pretties," Yuka said in a dark voice, followed by a deep, cackling laugh.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You know, witches don't really laugh like that."

Her laughter stilled mid-cackle, Yuka scowled at Kagome. "And how would you know?"

Kagome slowly lifted an eyebrow in challenge, allowing her hands to drift absently over the length of her body to display her priestess garb. "I'm a miko." she stated the obvious. Of course, her statement only made Yuka, along with Eri and Ayumi break into laughter. She sighed. "Are we going to get a move on this, or not? Because standing in the middle of a dark roadway may not be scary, but it sure is stupid."

"Yeah, come on Yuka!" Eri urged with a slight tug on her friend's arm. "I want to see this place that is so scary it even left you creped out."

Yuka ripped her arm away from Eri. "I was not creped out!"

Turning to Kagome and Ayumi, Eri winked slyly. "She was. It took her almost a week to get normal color back in her skin after she had come here." Her focus suddenly turned to Kagome, and her expression turned tight with concern. "Oh!" she gasped softly. "I'm so sorry, Kagome! That was when you were in the hospital with Tuberculosis. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

Kagome laughed nervously. "Oh, no worries, Eri," she soothed her friend. "It really doesn't bother me." Of course, there was no reason for it to bother her, since she had never had tuberculosis and the last time she was actually in a hospital was likely when she had been born. Still, Kagome was slightly grateful that her grandfather had come up with a more tolerable excuse for her absence this time around. She was getting really sick of having to pretend she knew what things like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Legionnaire's Disease were. "Let's get going."

Kagome turned to Yuka, who nodded shortly. "Right, let's go!"

Turning down an old gravel road, Yuka began leading her friends towards their destination.

Using idle chit-chat to distract themselves from their dark surroundings and the chilling cries of night owls in the trees surrounding them on the dirt path, the girls made their way up the rocky incline. After several long minutes had passed, the ground beneath their feet began to level out. The thick of the trees thinned, and ahead they began to make out the vague outline of a building.

It had been ravaged by time, the once smooth walls crumbling in disrepair, and the once sturdy arches broken and left as frightening, dangerous projections of jagged stone. The whole building was cloaked in heavy shadow, not even the light shining down from above seemed to illuminate any part of this place. And all around it, rising up into the chill of the night like a terrible breath, a dense fog shifted and danced in eerie, deceptive motions, cloaking the ground and winding its way through the crooked and bare branches of the surrounding trees.

"This used to be a shrine." Though Yuka kept her voice in a low whisper, they had all heard it clearly, each of them straining their ears to listen to the sounds made beyond the fog, something within them crying out in warning that they needed to be cautious, they needed to be on guard. "They would perform sending rituals here before burying the dead in the graveyard beyond."

"G…Grave…Graveyard?" Eri stuttered nervously.

"What's wrong, Eri?" Yuka taunted in a dark sneer. "Are you scared?"

"N…No!" she protested shrilly, a little too shrilly to be believable.

"Then let's go!"

Yuka turned and began walking towards the old shrine, but stopped when she felt her arm gripped firmly.

"Yuka," Kagome whispered her warning to her friend. "I'm not so sure about this. Going into a graveyard on Halloween night just screams of trouble. I mean, I'm all for the games and tricks we used to play but this…this could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Yuka laughed shortly, the sound sharp and hard and devoid of all mirth. She ripped her arm away from Kagome's hold. "Well then," she spit, "I guess we should all be grateful that we have a powerful 'miko' like you with us."

Kagome grit her teeth as she watched her friend continue walking towards the decrepit old shrine. This place just didn't sit right with her. There was a warning being whispered upon breezes, a chill settled within that fog that simply wasn't natural. Her hand found its way to the polished wood of the bow slung across her shoulder, squeezing firmly in assurance that it was still there, that should things take an unexpected turn that she would be prepared.

"Kagome?" Ayumi called softly from her side. "Are you coming?"

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome set her sights on the shrine again. She hardened herself to the unsettling feelings coursing through her, telling herself that this was what she had sought out on this night, that this is what she had wanted. She could feel the tightness in her chest and the sharp, uneven pattern of her breath; and though invoked by primal fear, it was exhilarating.

When she spoke, her voice was hardened by her determination. "Alright, let's go."

By the time Kagome and Ayumi had caught up with Yuka and Eri, they found them walking slowly along a rusted old rod iron fence that stretched out from the main building of the shrine. Yuka was holding a small flashlight, casting the bright beam along the rows of iron in search.

"I don't get it," Kagome heard her say as she approached. "The gate was here the last time I came. It was open."

"Maybe the ghosts wanted more privacy," Eri snicker from her side.

Yuka shot her friend a look that was sure to kill before ignoring the comment and going back to her search. "It has to be here somewhere."

_**- Rowllllll……rrrrrrrrrr……-**_

Spinning quickly towards the vicious growl, Ayumi latched onto Kagome arm to peer over her shoulder. "Wh…What was that??!!"

"M…maybe it was a wolf?" Eri asked weakly as she too crept up behind Kagome to peer over her shoulder into the darkness beyond.

"Yeah, because there are so many wolves prowling around this close to the city," Yuka muttered dryly, never taking her focus away from the iron fence.

Kagome didn't say anything as she too scanned the darkness, but she was using more than just her eyes to see. She knew it hadn't been a wolf that had made that sound; she knew no mere wolf could set her sense on fire like this creature had. Still, she thought it best her friends believe something so simple; and she prayed that they would never have to find out the terrible truth.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!"

Hearing Yuka's terrified scream, Kagome spun around so quickly that she nearly knocked Eri and Ayumi off balance. She immediately saw the source of her friend's fright. Standing just on the other side of the iron fence was a man. He was tall, standing nearly a foot higher than any of the girls, and his entire body was covered by a heavy cloak that was so dark he barely seemed more than one of the shadows. And at his side, growling lowly at the intruders, a giant Akita Inu stood bearing his fangs viciously.

"What the hell is your problem, man?!" Yuka screamed in outrage as she pulled herself to her feet.

"You are trespassing," the stranger replied. His voice was deep and smooth, but dark and frightening at the same time.

Hearing it made Yuka shiver, but she refused to let this guy get the better of her. "Last time I checked, a shrine was a place that welcomed all people!"

"Hn," the other responded vaguely. "Find your games elsewhere, girl. Only trouble will come of this place."

"Who the hell do you think you are??!!" Yuka yelled at the man. She pulled herself closer to the fence, but a ripping snarl released by the Inu standing at the man's side stopped her advance abruptly. She released a strained breath. "Look, buddy…"

Yuka's tirade was cut off when Kagome joined her by the fence and placed a restraining hand on her arm. She looked up at the man, but beneath the shadowy layers of his hood, she could not make out his face. "We don't mean any trouble," she told him in a soft, steady voice. "We just wanted to pay our respects to the dead."

The man regarded her for a moment, and in that moment Kagome felt again the terrible pull of demonic fires and from beneath the hooded cowl she thought she saw something flash, a sharp glint of golden light contained within the darkness; but no sooner than she had seen or felt anything and the darkness took over once more, shielding the man from her vision.

Finally, after a long moment of tense silence, he replied. "Do as you will." Turning away from her, he began walking deeper into the mist, his form disappearing behind the veil of shifting white. But as he went, his voice carried back to them one last time, more chilling than the cool autumn air and more frightening than the darkness surrounding them. "In a place of the dead and the damned, the living are not welcome lest they wish to join them."

The girls stared after where the man had vanished, each replaying his chilling warning in their mind.

_**- Creeeeeaaaaaakkkk…..CLANG….-**_

"KIIIYAAA!!!"

"Damnit, Eri!" Yuka struggled against the girl gripping her in trembling fright. Once managing to dislodge her startled friend, she gave her a hard shove back. "Quit jumping on me like a little scaredy-cat!"

"The gate…" Ayumi's soft voice turned attention to her. Following the direction of her trembling finger, the girls looked towards the now open gate leading to the graveyard beyond.

"Well it's about time!" Yuka started determinedly towards the opening in the fence, but stopped when she realized no one was following her. "What are you guys waiting for?" she asked hotly. "This is what we came here for!"

"Yuka…" Kagome started in warning. The man's words refused to leave her, and though fading now, she was certain she had sensed the aura of a youkai.

"Oh, not again, Kagome! We came all this way; you can't honestly expect me to turn back now! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"But, Yuka," Eri said nervously from her side, "That man…"

"Oh, please," Yuka huffed. "Did you see the way he was dressed? He was probably some hobo or something thinking to get a good laugh at our expense. Well he can't pull one over on me! And you guys are pretty weak if that stupid little side show of his managed to get to you. I mean, come on! What? He thinks just because he has that mutt growl at us a couple of times and we'll totally freak out? I think my dog is scarier, and she's a Shih Tzu!"

Releasing her anger in a long sigh, Yuka continued. "Look, guys. This is Halloween. What would it be without a few freak outs? Besides, look around you. What better place is there to swap a few ghost stories? Come on," she urged excitedly, her eyes glinting with anticipation. "This will be the best Halloween ever!"

And though still reluctant and holding reservations about what lay beyond the gate, the girls soon found themselves walking through it into the dense mist beyond.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anyone out there gone into a graveyard on Halloween night? I have, and let me tell ya, they sure seem a lot spookier on that night of all others ;P

Well, no time for chit-chat. I've got to get to the next chapter if I want to be anywhere near completing this story in time (le sigh I don't think I will, but still, I have to try)

So, laters!

Shadow


	4. Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories 

"It's just up ahead."

Yuka led the group of girls through the graveyard, stepping carefully past the crumbling remains of headstones as they made their way deeper and deeper into the swirling mists. Her flashlight was trained ahead of her on the path, but the small beam of light seemed to be swallowed up in the thickness of the fog and the penetrating darkness all around.

The wind howled all around them, but it too seemed a specter in the mist. They could hear its voice and those chi8lling sounds it carried with it, but could not feel its touch, almost as though it avoided this place. But the most terrible sound, the one that made the blood run cold, was not the cries of night bids in the hunts or even the growling of the beast from earlier; it was a soft voice carried in light chimes to reach their ears, echoing through the rows of stone markers in an eerie hum like a melody being sung by a saddened specter.

The girls were huddled close together, none of them wanting to be far from the presence of the others in this place. They drew comfort and support from their friendship and along with it the confidence to move forward into the gloom.

At the lead of the small group, Yuka was smiling triumphantly. She could basically feel the fear and anxiety radiating off her friends, and she knew that all of her planning and searching to find this place had not gone to waste. But the night was not yet over, and the terror had only just started.

Ahead, Yuka began to make out the small rise that marked the centre of the small cemetery. She picked up her pace and headed towards it. With the other girls hot on her heels, they began the short climb to the monument set upon the rise.

A stone angel gazed back at them through the night. Its wings had crumbled away to leave sad stubs of their once glory and its body was cracked and breaking against times passage; but the eyes carved within the cherub face seemed alive, focusing sharply on the girls that gathered before it

"She's beautiful," Ayumi whispered reverently as she gazed upon the stone angel. "I wonder who she was."

Eri moved forward and began clearing away the dried leaves and overgrown grassed from the base of statue. She searched for a few moments before pulling back with a confused expression. "There's no name," she told her friends quietly.

"It must have eroded over the years," Yuka said with a slight shake of her head. "Poor girl."

But Kagome wasn't so sure. The angel was a centerpiece, the focus of this small shrine's gravesites. She stood as an ageless protector over the graves and the spirits contained within them. Such a position was often given to a holy person, one who had dedicated their lives, both in this world and the next, to the cause of man. To die without a name but still be given such a memorial…Something terrible must have happened to her.

"Enough of this." Yuka had decided it was time to get down to business. She turned away from the stone angel and reached into her bag, pulling out a large blanket. She handed it to Eri with instruction to spread it on the ground, then went back to searching through her supplies. To Ayumi, she handed several small candles and a lighter which she set up in the centre of the blanket. And finally, she handed Kagome a thin black box. She watched with a dark smile of anticipation as Kagome carefully lifted the lid of the box, but finally broke into a wicked bout of laughter when she saw the shock and fear play across her friend's face when she revealed the Ouija board.

Kagome had frozen in shock, a wave of dread passing through her in a cold shiver. This was NOT good. A Ouija board was supposed to be all fun and games, a child's play tool to frighten and amuse…at least, that's probably what Yuka thought. But for one who could actually make contact with the spirit world, this 'game' became something else entirely.

She could hear Yuka's laughter, but she truly found this no laughing matter. It was one thing to try and suppress her mystical abilities under normal circumstances, but to do so when there were other forces at work…Kagome wasn't certain if her untrained powers would allow for it.

"Oh, Kagome!" Yuka panted out between bouts of laughter. "You should see your face!"

"Kagome?" Ayumi knelt by her side, her gentle hands taking hold of hers and giving them a reassuring squeeze. "Here, let me help with that." She took hold of the board and moved it to the centre of the blanket where it could be surrounded in the soft glow of the candlelight.

Finally managing to shake off her uneasiness now that the medium board was away from her, Kagome looked over to Yuka. "A Ouija board?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of disbelief. "What? Did you run out of ghost stories to tell so you're resorting to trying to trick us into making our own?"

Yuka bristled at the insinuation. "Like I would ever run out of ghost stories," she bit out hotly. But she quickly hid her displeasure, smirking wickedly at her friend. "How about you? Think you can actually scare anyone this year with your ghost story?"

Kagome's lips twitched at the irony of this entire conversation. _'Yuka,'_ she thought bitterly, _'If you only knew…' _

"Oh! I want to go first!" Ayumi cried suddenly. "I've got a really good one this year!"

Kagome giggled softly as she watched Yuka hide her groan. Ayumi tried, she really did, but the girl just couldn't do scary. Still, none of them were going to deny her the chance to try on this night. So, the girls settled themselves down around the blanket and prepared themselves for the Halloween Ghost Stories to come, the Tales from the Crypt.

- - - - - - - - - - -

A man was driving down old route 36. It was late at night, and the road was dark in shadow. He leaned over the steering wheel, squinting to see through the fog that had rolled in over the hills. He was so focused on watching the road ahead, that he nearly missed seeing the figure walking along the side of the road. Startled, the man slowed to get a better look.

It was a woman. She was walking through the mist, her steps slow and leisurely.

The man looked around, straining to see through the darkness and the fog if there were any houses on this old stretch of road. But he saw no lights, not even any other vehicles traveling so late at night. Looking back at the young woman walking at the side of the road, the man decided that he couldn't in good conscience leave her there alone in the dark of night.

He pulled the car over, rolling down the passenger side window and calling out to the young girl.

"Do you need help, miss?" he asked her in genuine concern. "Can I give a ride somewhere? You really shouldn't be walking out here alone at night."

The girl looked over at him, and the man was startled at how beautiful she was. Her skin was pale, brushed lightly with color on her cheeks and eyelids, and her full lips had been painted a delicate pink to make them even more inviting. Her dark hair spilled down over her shoulders, contrasting starkly against the vivid white of her blouse. She looked at him strangely, perhaps contemplating if she should accept his aid or not, and her hands wrung together against a violet sweater which she held between them.

But, after a moment of indecision, the girl stepped closer to the car. The man smiled at her, trying to tell her that he meant no harm, and he reached across the car to open the door for the girl. She slipped into the passenger seat quietly, her eyes never really meeting his.

"Where do you live, Miss?" The man asked. I will take you home.

With a soft, quiet voice, the girl gave the man directions to her home. She didn't speak as they drove, only sat there quietly, staring out into the night. When they finally arrived, she turned to him, again shocking the man with her beauty, but still not fully meeting his eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly before slipping out of the car.

The man watched her for a moment, but then pulled out of the drive and continued on his way. It wasn't until he had gotten home that the man realized the girl's sweater was still on the passenger seat. But not wanting to knock on her door so late at night, he decided that he could return it in the morning.

Morning came, and on his way to work that day, the man made a detour to stop by the young girl's house. With her violet sweater in his hand, he went to the front door and rang the bell. A middle-aged woman answered the door, and though lacking the girl's striking beauty, he could see the resemblance between this woman and the girl and knew her to be the mother.

"Can I help you?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," the man said. "But I gave your daughter a ride home last night, and she left her sweater in my car."

He held out the sweater to the woman, and watched curiously a she reached out to it with trembling hands, almost as though she feared to touch it.

"This…" she stammered weakly. "This was my daughter's sweater..."

When her eyes met his again, they were filled with tears and confusion. "Is there something wrong?" the man asked.

"My daughter…" The woman replied quietly, her tears finally breaking free and rolling down her cheeks in crystal paths. "She was wearing this sweater one year ago…on the night she died."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This time, Yuka couldn't contain her groan. "What did you do, Ayumi, look up old Urban Legends on the internet?"

"Yuka!" Kagome admonished shrilly. "Be nice!" she turned to Ayumi. "I thought it was wonderful. You're getting much better at telling these stories."

Ayumi's smile was fragile. "But…you've still heard it before, haven't you?" she asked quietly.

Kagome grimaced and nodded her head. "Sorry, Ayumi, but that one is pretty common."

"Your turn, Kagome!" Eri chirped excitedly from the other side of the blanket. She winked at her friend. "And this time make it one we haven't heard."

"Alright," Kagome replied with a grin. She had just the story in mind. It always gave her goosebumps. Of course, there was likely a reason why this more than other stories gave her, of all people, goosebumps, but whatever.

She began her tale.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Just along the coast, near the city, there is a park. Every day the park is filled with people; children playing, joggers going for their daily runs, and people walking their dogs. From the outside, it was just a normal, average park.

But then, one day, people started saying that they saw a strange woman standing on a bluff overlooking the ocean. She wore a black blouse and white pants even though it was late in the autumn and the air was chilled. But what was most unusual about this woman was that her right hand was lifted above her head as though she were pointing at something in the sky. Some of the people who had seen her looked up to where she was pointing, but none of them could see anything except for the sun and sky.

Weeks passed, and still people would talk of seeing this strange woman standing on the bluff, pointing towards the sky. Then, one day, a man that took his morning jog through the park, who himself had seen this strange woman on many occasions, decided to investigate. He called out to her, but she did not respond, didn't even move from where she stood on the bluff pointing towards the sky.

Curious, and becoming slightly concerned, the man moved closer to investigate. But when he reached the bluff, the woman was no longer there.

More weeks passed, and still people would talk of the mysterious woman standing upon the bluff. But no matter how many would call out to her, she would not answer. And no matter how many tried to reach on the bluff, for some reason, they could not. She would always just vanish, as though she had never been there.

Then, on a day just like any other, a man walking his dog along the water's edge saw the figure of the woman standing on the bluff above him. When he called out to her and she didn't answer, he moved closer to investigate. Like all the other before him, when he drew close enough to the woman, she vanished as though she had never been there.

But the man's dog suddenly acted very strangely. He began clawing at the sand, digging down to something he had discovered beneath the layers of driftwood and debris. The man tried to pull his dog away, but it was determined, and it continued pawing at the ground, digging. Finally, the man moved to physically restrain the dog, wrapping his arms tightly around its neck and pulling it back. But as he did so, he caught sight of something terrible buried within the sand.

A woman's foot.

Terrified, he hauled his dog away from the gruesome scene, heading directly to the nearest phone where he could contact the authorities.

The police came, their teams working carefully to excavate the body of the woman found on the beach. She had been buried head down in the sand, facing away from the water, her left hand raised above her head, the fingers bloody and torn as though she had been trying to dig her way free. She was dressed still in her white blouse and black pants.

The exact opposite of the figure that had appeared on the bluff.

They say it was her doppelganger, her polar opposite that remained behind on the bluff until the woman's body could be found. It was her, and yet in everything it was not. It wore clothing opposite to her, it faced the opposite direction, and its opposite arm was raised to the sky when hers had been digging in the ground in her confused attempt to free herself before it would be too late.

The doppelganger that wanted the world to know of the death of its other half.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

When Kagome's tale drew to a close, Eri shivered dramatically. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"It was alright," Yuka allowed with a slight shrugging of her shoulders.

"Oh? And you can do better?" Kagome shot back.

"But of course," Yuka replied with a knowing grin. "But not yet. Eri still hasn't told hers."

Three sets of eyes trained on Eri, and she smiled wickedly before begging her tale.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Many years ago, before the advancement of technology, when people still relied on hunters and trappers to catch their stores of meat and give them warm furs to wear during the cold winter months, a hunting party traveled north for the season. Fully confident in the abilities of his trappers, the leader of the hunting party didn't stock more than a weeks worth of meat in their provisions.

Unfortunately, just as the arrived at the outpost where they were to spend the next several months, a terrible winter storm blew in. The men were secluded in the small outpost, not able to travel more than a few hundred yards into the forest without fear of becoming lost forever in the furious storm. Trapping was impossible, all of the animals having concealed themselves in their burrows and dens to wait out the storm.

Days passed, and still the storm hadn't let up. Still, the headman wasn't concerned, and, despite the warnings given to him by his young chef of the dwindling supplies, he didn't take care to ration their meals.

By the time the storm had finally let up, the supplies of meat were already exhausted. But still the headman wasn't concerned. After all, his men would likely return with their kills in time for the evening meal.

When night came and the hunters returned, they carried with them no trophies, and the headman finally began to worry. The men demanded their share of meat for their evening meal, but the headman told them that there was none left. The men grew furious, telling the headman that they would eat meat tomorrow or it would be his head. Nervously, the headman agreed, and promised his men their share of meat come dinner time tomorrow.

The next day, the hunters went out again, but when evening came, again they came back with no trophies.

The headman grew frantic. He went to the young cook and demanded that he produce meat for the men's meal. But there was meat, the cook explained to him. Their supplies had been completely consumed just as he had warned they would be. Not willing to loose his life over something like a little bit of meat, the headman thought furiously to come up with an idea. And then it came to him. Relief washed through him, knowing that he had saved his own neck, and he turned to the young cook and told him to go out back and gather more wood for the cooking fire.

When the young cook left, the headman took a moment to steady his trembling hands, and then took hold of the meat cleaver from the table. He followed the young cook out into the snow, and from his young body cut the meat demanded of him by the hunters.

That evening, the hunters ate their meat, the whole while saying that it was the most wonderful tasting dish they had ever eaten. When the meal was finished, one of the hunters asked after the young cook, wanting to congratulate him on a job well done.

Just then, from out in the woods, a terrible, blood-curdling wail was heard. The men inside the outpost jumped to their feet, their rifles in their hands almost instantly. Again the wail was heard in the woods, a shrieking cry of anguish and suffering that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The men could stand it no longer. The wail had gotten under their skin, seeped into their very bones with its chilling cry. They went out into the dark night, spreading out through the forest trees in search of the monster making that hideous sound.

Over and over the wail sounded out through the trees; shrieking, crying, a sound so hideous and repulsive that it drove the men mad.

Gunshots rang out through the night, futile attempts on the hunter's behalves to silence the terrible sound. The shots echoed menacingly through the thick of the wood; one, five, ten, so many, too many to count. But then, suddenly, the shots silenced, and the wail faded into a sobbing cry on the breezes.

In the wood, their bellies full of their once-comrade, the men of the hunting party all lay dead, shot by their own rifles in the madness cast upon them by the spirit of the young cook and his anguished cries.

To this day, when travelers pass through that wood, they say you can still hear the wail of the wronged cook.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"That's so terrible," Ayumi commented softly.

"Disgusting is more like it," Yuka said with a deep grimace.

Kagome couldn't help but agree with Yuka on this one. The whole idea of it had her cringing in distaste.

But Eri took in her friends' twisted expressions of disgust and couldn't have been more pleased.

Yuka, however, had seen the winning smile spreading on Eri's lips, and she was quick to steal it away. "Don't think you've won just yet," she told her friend in a dark voice. "I still haven't told my story."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Don't you just love Halloween??!! I do! Lol, I have to admit, I think I was even giving myself the creeps writing a couple of those old ghost stories. The first one was definitely an Urban Legend, but the other two are just ones that I've picked up over the years. I hope everyone got a good scare, or at the very least a cold shiver from my little tales. Next chapter, I'll go back to actually writing a story, but I just couldn't resist typing out a few 'true' ghost stories for this one.

Happy Devil's Night!

Shadow


	5. Of Demons and Monsters

Of Demons and Monsters

The four girls huddled more closely around the glow of the candles set up on the old blanket. Around them, the mist swirled in sluggish, deceptive motions of restless anticipation, and the wind wailed with chilling songs of anxious warning. This night was a night for spirits and horror, and all were waiting for the tale to unfold that would bring them closer to that world.

- - - - - - - - - -

During an era of war, where blood was spilt and lives were lost without thought and without remorse, there existed things more terrible than the Vampires we have seen in movies, and more horrifying than any nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween with a Hockey mask. And on a dark night, where the wicked hearts of desperate men turned against their own, one of these such monsters was released.

The march had begun weeks earlier, an army of men headed towards the capitol from the north. They camped here, in the shadow of Great Fuji, not knowing of the terrible fate that awaited them all. For it was on that night, in the camp made on this very spot, among those men from so long ago, that evil had awoken in their midst.

They never made it to the capitol. In fact, only one remained to tell the story of what had befallen his fellow men, a young boy hardly old enough to wield a sword, but who in those times was forced by circumstance and events he couldn't control to wield arms and march. Why the boy would be spared and no other, all rests in the story he had to tell.

He told of a young girl, one found foraging in the wood surrounding the encampment. She had been found by a watchguard and dragged back to the camp. The boy, hearing the frantic cries of the young girl, followed the sound of her voice. When he reached the edge of their camp, he saw a large group of the men pulling the girl into a dark cave that cut into the hills. He moved closer still, and when he finally set eyes on the young girl, he realized why her screams and cries had sounded so desperate and so full of terror.

The men had stripped her bare, their rough and calloused hands groping at her young body with unspeakable cruelty as they striped her even further of her innocence. Horrified by what he knew would happen to the girl, the boy called out for them to stop, told them that he would take message to their commander of their deplorable actions. But the men were intent on seeing through their depraved perversity, and they turned on the boy as well, hitting him so hard he lost consciousness.

On that night, the winds were sickened by the terrible screams of pain and suffering endured by the girl held captive in the cave below. Over and over those men ravaged her young body, using it to satiate their terrible lust. By the time they had finished with her, she was nothing more than a broken shell, the light in her spirit corrupted and darkened so horribly that it could no longer sustain her fragile mortal body.

She died on that night. But from the wounds of her terrible ordeal, from the blood spilt by her captors and the cries of her pain still carried upon the winds, from the darkness born of her anguish and the wickedness of the hearts of those men; there arose something so terrible and so hideous it could only be called a demon.

Vengeance was what the beast sought, vengeance for the crimes committed against the tortured soul that had called it into existence. Released into the world of men, into the very midst of the gathered army, it would reap its vengeance in blood.

Cries pieced the night, cries of horror and of pain so shrill they filled the countryside with a shuddering roar of terror. It was to this sound that the boy finally awoke, a sound so hideous it was paralyzing to his mortal ears. His body froze in fright so consuming he could do nothing but watch as all around him the others in his company were slaughtered.

The beast was merciless, tearing through the men without pause and without remorse. All around it, the ground was soaked in red, as though the earth itself was bleeding; but the blood only made the eyes of the beast glow crimson as it demanded more to add to its sacrifice.

Finally, the cries of the dying men grew still, all now lying dead at the monster's feet. In the shadows, concealed from the beast, the boy looked on in muted horror, tears streaming down his face at the senseless bloodshed and merciless killing. But when he at last thought the horror had ended, when he thought that there could be nothing more terrible than what he had already bore witness to, the beast reared back and lifted its head to the sky, releasing a sound so hideous it defied description, so chilling land itself trembled in fear, and so filled with fury that it ignited the night sky in an inferno of deadly crimson fires.

So horrific was the scene, that the boy watching from the shadows believed that he was watching Armageddon unfold, that hell itself had come to purge the earth of all life. All around him the crimson fires burned, the fires of fury and darkness and savage will that tore through everything. He would die in this place, he thought. He would die for the sins of his brethren who had brought down this wrathful hand upon themselves.

But then, just before the end could come, a miracle happened, a blessing sent by the gods to tame the beast and all of its furious might. The hand of purity to stand against the hand of darkness, a mortal priestess walked onto the blood-soaked field.

The boy watched in wondrous awe as the priestess stood so proudly before the monster. Her entire body glowed with her radiant light, and the beast could not touch her, could not even think to strike out against her. She led the creature away from its rampage, led it straight into the earth from which its fires had been born. And with her glorious power, she sealed the beast within the cave that had spawned its terror.

Darkness once again filled the night, and a stillness that signaled the end of the madness. Nothing stirred; nothing dared even to breathe lest they invoke again the wrath of the beast. But the beast did not emerge from its rest in the dark caverns of the earth. Nothing did. Not even the priestess that had led the monster away. She had sacrificed herself to save her fellow man, to rid the world of such a terrible plague.

And the boy who had seen it all would be granted one last miraculous display. Though her body did not emerge, the boy saw leaving from the dark cavern in the earth just before the rising of the golden sun, the bright light of her sprit which rose into the sky to take the powerful warrior of the gods to her final rest.

But though the darkness was sealed, though the beast had been put to rest, still they say that on dark nights a voice can be heard carried upon the howling winds, a chilling cry of anguish and suffering cloaked in the haunting melody of a child's song. And they say, that should any follow the voice of the girl-child and find the cavern in which her body had been laid to rest, that instead they would find the demon of fury and of blood waiting for the time when it can be released again and again seek vengeance against those that had brought it life by the spilling of their blood.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Yuka brought her chilling tale to a close, a shift in the winds caused the group of girls to shiver in fright. For carried upon those winds, mixed within the turbulent tumble, there seemed to be a voice calling out to them, a voice so soft and sweet it chilled them to the bone.

"It didn't…didn't really happen like that…did it?" Eri asked in a hushed whisper, her voice trembling like her body.

A slow, dangerous smile began lifting on Yuka's lips. "They say that the shrine that stood on these grounds was abandoned so long ago because the patrons of the shrine kept disappearing into the night. They say that they had followed a child's voice, chased after a shadow skipping between the grave markers, never to be seen again."

A soft whine sounded in Eri's throat as her eyes skirted around her, peering futilely into the shifting fog, shadows dancing across her mind that whispered of terror and fright. The trembling of her body grew so desperately fierce that she began struggling to take in air. And across from her, Ayumi was doing no better at keeping her fear at bay. Her eyes were impossibly wide and glistening with light moisture as she too tried futilely to peer past the mist into the space beyond.

Kagome, however, was not impressed. It was simply one of thousands of horror stories conjured up by people in primitive times to explain things that they simply had no answer for; or, if not that, then a tale of a monster which had become nothing but myth and legend in the modern world, but a monster whose like she had seen, had battled, had conquered.

She felt fear as the others did. Being in this place of chilling mists and haunting winds, being told of the horror story kept buried in the earth; it was impossible to not feel fear. But fear, she knew, was not the enemy. Fear was the most primal of emotions. It warned of dangers perhaps not seen by the eyes or the senses. It was a pulling in the gut, a shiver across the skin, something beyond your control. And yet, fear had only one true purpose: to be conquered.

Her eyes found Yuka's, locking her with a steady gaze, one which had seen demons and monsters and not flinched away, one that was feared by even the most vile of beasts. She smiled, and the mask her friend wore to conceal her own fear cracked.

"It was a nice story, Yuka. You really outdid yourself this year."

The soft but steady tone of her voice, and the unwavering confidence that carried it, caused both Eri and Ayumi to visibly relax. And Kagome's smile grew when she saw Yuka bristle over the fact that all her work had nearly been overthrown with a few simple words.

But Yuka's plans had not yet been exhausted, and she promised herself that before this night was over, Kagome would know true fear.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Goodness! That chapter took so much longer to write than I had anticipated. Le sigh Oh well, I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow ;P Still, keep your eyes open for another chapter tonight. I think there are about three left in this story. Well then, I suppose I should get going on writing the next one, huh?

Happy Halloween!

Please leave a treat for your authoress on your way out and review (because, sadly, I'm too old to get candy the old fashion way anymore)

Cheers!

Shadow


	6. What the Spirits Want

What the Spirits Want

"I want to talk to her." Yuka's eyes glinted darkly in the candlelight as she made her declaration.

"Talk to who?" Eri asked in confusion from her side.

The dark look in her friend's eyes and the wicked smile rising on her lips told Kagome the answer before Yuka even gave it.

"The little girl," she told her friends in a voice coated with false sweetness and innocence. "I want to ask her why she hasn't moved on to her rest."

"The Ouija board." Kagome finally understood Yuka's purpose for bringing it here.

"Scared, Kagome?" Yuka taunted.

'Not as scared as you would be if I even so much as laid a hand on that thing,' Kagome thought darkly. "Sorry, Yuka," she said instead, "but I can't use those things. It's against my religion."

Yuka pulled back slightly in shock. "Religion?" she asked speculatively. "Kagome, we all practice the same religion, and there's nothing that says we can't try to talk with the spirits. Actually, that's the whole point of it!"

Shrugging passively, Kagome replied, "The spirits of the unsent are restless. Their only wish is to see the living suffer. To engage in their games is only to ask for trouble, trouble which I have no wish to exacerbate by offering the eyes of miko to aid them."

"That's the second time you've called yourself a miko tonight, Kagome," Yuka bit out hotly. "It's getting pretty old."

"I don't know," Ayumi offered quietly from beside the two facing off. "Kagome has lived in a shrine all her life. She knows better than any of us the ancient rituals and I've seen her draw out the charms with her grandfather. Isn't that what a miko does?"

"Kagome a miko?" Eri started giggling. "Next you're going to try and tell me the light show from the shrine earlier was actually her taking down a demon with a mystical arrow!"

Kagome sighed at her inability to tell her friends the truth and make them believe and shook her head. "Believe whatever you want, but I'm telling you, I won't touch that board. You guys go ahead without me."

Eri started laughing again. "I never thought I'd see the day where Kagome was afraid to do anything! Oh, Yuka! You really did it this year! The best Halloween ever!"

Buy Yuka didn't even acknowledge Eri. Her eyes remained glued to Kagome, anger and resentment brewing just beneath the dark surfaces. "Whatever," she finally spit out in disgust. "Be a chicken shit. See if I care."

With a sharp wave of her hands, Yuka gestured both Eri and Ayumi to move closer to the Ouija board. Together, they placed their fingers lightly on the wooden scryer in the centre of the board.

Sitting back and watching carefully, both her friends and her surroundings, Kagome waited. She could feel the pull against her mystical abilities the moment they had touched that thing, but she forced it behind her barriers of restraint, refusing to allow it to surface to give any more power to whatever spirits inhabited this place. If they wanted to make contact, they were going to have to do it without her. She waited….

Yuka's voice lifted into the shadowy night, being carried on the winds through the shifting fog. "We seek the spirit of the girl who died here all those years ago, the girl whose demon arose to take revenge for her terrible death. We seek the spirit bound to this place in her eternity. Speak, spirit. Speak with us!"

A soft scraping against the wooden board was heard. Eri gasped in shock and fright, while the others watched wide-eyed as the wooden scryer began to move. Slowly, shakily, the triangle under their fingers started circling the boards.

"St…Stop doing that Yuka!" Ayumi stuttered fearfully.

""Shhh!" Yuka hissed back. "It isn't me!" She watched for a moment more as the scryer moved in its circular pattern, but when realizing that it wouldn't deviate from its path, she took a deep breath and spoke again. "Who is moving the scryer?" she asked the board.

And in response to her question, the arrow began to move from the circular path it had chosen, sliding over the board in the same slow, shaky movements.

The arrow suddenly stopped, its tip pointing to a single letter.

M

"M?" Eri asked in a whisper of confusion. "M what?"

But even before she had finished her question, the scryer began moving again, eventually coming to rest at another point.

E

"Me…" Ayumi whispered. "Me who?"

The scryer moved again, but instead of directing the arrow to any more letters, it went back to circling in the centre of the board, over and over in a slow repetition.

"Are you a spirit?" Yuka tried, but still the scryer continued in its slow circular path.

Eri looked over at Yuka. "Why won't it answer?"

Yuka's lips pressed into a thin line. She refused to look over at Eri, and refused to say that she didn't know.

"Spirits often can't remember their names." It was Kagome that had answered. "Many of them don't even realize that they are dead. Asking questions about their life or their death will likely get you nowhere."

"Big talk from someone who won't even touch the board!" Yuka bit out hotly. "If you know so much, why don't you ask it a question?"

Kagome scowled and shook her head firmly in the negative. "Nice try, Yuka."

"Fine then," Yuka said, her focus turning back to the board, "I'll ask it."

"Do you know why you're here?"

…………

"Do you have any memories?"

………..

"Do you understand me?"

………..

"Can you even hear me?"

………..

Growing frustrated, Yuka applied more pressure to the scryer under her fingers, causing it to crape shrilly across the wooden surface as it continued on its circular path. "Why won't you answer??!!" she yelled down to the board.

The scryer suddenly lurched under her hands, and it quickly moved to spell out a message.

…O…

…N…

…L…

…Y…

"Only…." Ayumi translated the beginnings of the message even as it the scryer continued spelling out letters.

….K…

…A…

"This is not funny, Yuka!" Kagome hissed out angrily.

…G…

"I swear to you, Kagome!" Yuka replied defensively, "I'm not doing this!"

…O…

"Kagome…?" Ayumi whispered fearfully. Her fingers started slipping away from the wooden pedestal.

…M…

"Don't let go, Ayumi!" Kagome told her firmly. "You must not break the connection until the spirit is calmed."

…E…

The scryer drew to a halt, the pointed end signaling the final letter of its message.

"Only Kagome," Yuka repeated the words spelled out to them by the spirit board. She looked up at her friend. "It will only talk to you."

Kagome clenched her jaw firmly to try and prevent herself from scowling. "Yuka," she said angrily, "If you think…"

"I swear it wasn't me!" Yuka cried shrilly. "The thing had a mind of its own! I was just along for the ride!"

"It couldn't have been Yuka," Eri said quietly. "It couldn't have been any of us." She lifted her eyes slowly, prying them away from the board to look at Kagome. "I tried to make it stop. I tried to make it spell out another name. It didn't work! It just kept moving!"

There was panic in her friend's voice and terror shinning in her eyes, and Kagome looked away. "Guys…"

Kagome was cut off when Eri cried out in fright. She looked back quickly to her friend, only to find that Eri, along with Yuka and Ayumi were once again watching as the scryer moved along the board's surface.

...H…E…L…P…M…E…

"Help me." Yuka interpreted the message. She looked up to Kagome. "You have to."

Closing her eyes tightly, Kagome released a heavy sigh and nodded her head. She knew she could never turn away from a cry for help, even if it had come from the dead. With a deep, steadying breath, she opened her eyes and stretched her hands out to touch her fingers to the scryer's surface. The moment she came in contact with the spirit board, Kagome could feel the cold chill that shivered its way down her spine. In response, with no way to stop them, her powers surged outwards in her defense, wrapping her in an invisible layer of protection, but at the same time granting the spirit an easier path to the board. Still, she knew there was nothing to be done about it. She had already committed herself to helping this wayward soul.

"I am Kagome," she said quietly. "Do you wish to speak with me?"

The scryer moved to the top left corner of the board.

…Yes…

"Do you need a miko?" Kagome asked.

…Yes…

"But you're not…" Kagome's stern look stopped Yuka mid-protest.

Turning her attention back to the board, Kagome asked, "Do you want me to perform a sending rite?"

…No…

Her features drew tight in confusion as she tried to understand the spirit's motives. Not coming to any conclusions, she simply asked, "What is it you want from me?"

The scryer surged under the girls' hands, moving across the board with unsettling urgency as it spelled out its final message.

…Y…O…U…R…S…O…U…L…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, I don't know about you, but that sure would freak me out :P Heh, poor Kagome. She always finds the worst kinds of trouble. Still, it is quite entertaining to watch XD

Anyways, I think I still have a few more lines left in these tired fingers, so I'm going to break into the next chapter while I'm still on a roll.

Later

Shadow


	7. Ultimatum of the Damned

Ultimatum of the Damned

Kagome was so shocked at the spirit's declaration that almost instinctively her hands pulled away from the treat of being so close to this vengeful creature. Going against her own warning, she released the scryer. Realizing what she had done only after she had done it, Kagome drew in a startled breath, her eyes widening in apprehension as she looked upon the sprit board.

To her horror, she found that both Eri and Ayumi had also pulled their hands back from the scrying arrow, leaving only Yuka to hold on to the connection with the dark spirit. Then, just as the terrible realization began dawning on her, she heard Yuka's laughter. The sound was dark and hollow, containing no mirth, only a vindictive hateful scorn.

Slowly, hesitantly Kagome lifted her eyes to look upon her friend. The wicked laughter continued, but in her eyes Kagome could see no spark of life, no trace of will. To look into those eyes was like looking into an abyss, depthless and black, soulless, lifeless, terrible.

"Yuka?" Before Kagome could say anything in warning, Eri had reached out to try and bring her friend back from her maddened, maniacal laughter. But her hand had only just touched Yuka's shoulder when the girl shifted violently, her right arm shooting out and knocking Eri back with such force that she skidded across the ground before coming to a jarring stop.

"Foolish, child." The voice was Yuka's and yet it was not. It was deeper, darker, and conveyed without any kind of emotion. And still her eyes remained locked with Kagome's, the blackened depths so haunting they seemed to pull her in. "So, after all these years He really thinks that you could ever hope to defeat me."

"Vengeful spirit," Kagome ground out through clenched teeth, "You hold no power in the land of the living. Release my friend before I send you to your eternal damnation!"

As though Kagome's threat meant nothing to it, the spirit laughed again. "Damnation. I am already damned. And you, Kagome, are the one responsible for this wretched existence."

Pulling back slightly, Kagome blinked in confusion. "I'm responsible? How could I be…?"

"Are you so naive that you still believe you can not affect your present by your time in the past? I warned you that your presence could only end in more chaos, but you refused to listen. So headstrong, so impulsive. You think you can do whatever you want, take whatever you want, live however you want; and not have to pay the price you cast off onto so many others, a price I have paid like no other."

Kagome shook her head sharply. "I don't know what you're talking about! Who are you?"

"Someone who died," the spirit replied. "Someone who wants to live again."

Kagome shivered at the implication. Like all spirits, this specter from the past envied the living, wished to join them again. She shook her head sadly. "Impossible," she breathed out. "The dead can not be returned."

"You know better than that," the spirit chided, her voice dark and knowing and making Kagome shiver again, because she did know better, because she had seen magic do both miraculous and terrible things.

"I will not bring you back." Kagome was firm in her conviction. She would never allow it. She would never bring one of the damned back to the world of the living. She would never allow that kind of darkness to be unleashed in her world.

"You do not have a choice," the dark spirit replied. "You will give me your life, your soul, or the spirit that belongs to this girl shall walk in eternal condemnation, a spirit unable to find rest, unable to cross over, lost in the world between the living and the dead."

"Your threats are hollow, spirit," Kagome bit out hotly. "It is within my power to see you sent properly, but test me and you will find my compassion for the walking dead is sorely lacking." She paused, letting her words sink in, and realizing how much she actually meant them. For too long she had felt the pull against her soul by the one that wished it to be her own, for too long she had witnessed the terrible effects that the dead had upon the living, for too long, for far too long, had one of the dead been given false life. It filled her with pain and sorrow to even think of all the souls that had been lost because of that walking nightmare. She would not allow for it to happen again.

When she spoke again, her voice was hard. "I could destroy you."

"Destroy me, and you destroy this girl's spirit as well."

"Lies!" Kagome hissed. "I will not be manipulated, spirit!"

"Why lie when the truth is so much more compelling?" the spirit asked in a dark sneer. "This spirit is bonded to me now, just as Hers was. She can not escape me unless I will it. If you destroy me, I will drag her with me into the pits of hell to burn for all eternity in suffering anguish. And it shall be her cries of betrayal that will haunt your dreams and be the focus of every one of your nightmares."

Silence descended upon them then, only the words spoken by the dead hanging heavily on the air. Kagome knew the treat this spirit posed, understood the words she had spoken; but she could not bring herself to accept them, could not allow herself to fall into this trap. There had to be a way to save her friend. There had to be a way to drive off this vengeful spirit. There had to be something she could do. Something…

"I will not help you." Her voice trembled, fear and uncertainty mingling together with the pain it caused her to even think of the possibility of loosing her friend to this…this monster.

"But you will," the spirit replied. "I know you will. Because you are me, if only a sad and poor copy of the original."

Kagome's breath caught on a startled draw. Her eyes snapped wide with terrible understanding. But she knew then, perhaps had known all along.

"Kikyo…."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, it seems I confused a few people with who was talking to the girls. Wonderful! Kukukukuku! But, the secret's out now….at least some of it ;P But, if you really want to know, I'll let you all in on a little bit of truth. Most legends are based on some form of reality, only skewed by the perceptions of those writing them and altered by time's passage. Still, the old legend that Yuka spoke of holds some manner of truth to it. Perhaps a few sharp minds will be able to pick up on it before this comes to an end.

So tired…..Sorry folks, but three chapters in one day is definitely my limit. Errr…like all of my stories, this one is dragging out a little bit. But, hopefully I'll be able to finish it tomorrow. I actually know what's supposed to happen next (a rarity, I assure you) so it shouldn't take all that long to bring to a close.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams everyone (provided you haven't gorged on too much candy ;P)

TaTa

Shadow


	8. Friends Stick Together

Friends Stick Together

"Kikyo…"

As if the speaking of her name was a cruse in itself, the winds around them whipped into a frenzy, their howling so terrible it cut against the senses like blades of fury. Kagome shivered violently, feeling the cut of the winds so much deeper than her skin, knowing their restless fury so completely it was as though the feeling were her own. The cold of it settled into her bones, an inescapable chill that left her feeling hollow and empty, alone in the middle of a blizzard that would sweep her away and bury her in its snow until there was nothing left to be found. Desolate: this place of cold to which the winds had brought her.

But then there a voice calling on those winds, a soft hum carried on chimes that could break through even the deafening howl, a warmth that had the power to melt the ice that had settled into her lungs and stolen away her very breath. Soft and sweet, it was the voice of a child that had given her a lifeline to hold onto, to use to pull herself away from the bindings of the winds and the curse carried upon them.

Broken from the trance set upon her, Kagome found eyes to see once more, only to find that the space once occupied by bother friend and the vengeful spirit that had taken control of her body, was empty. A soft gasp of start left her, her head turning sharply to scan over the area and try and find her again. But there was nothing in front of her but the darkness of the night and the swirl of the mists beyond.

The weight of a hand settling on her shoulder and shaking her firmly had Kagome crying out in fright. She jerked away from the contact, spinning around to face the other so quickly that she lost her balance and fell back, scattering the candles set up around her and snuffing out their faint glow.

"Kagome!" The harsh whisper cut the distance between them, and the young miko breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she realized it was Eri calling her. "What the hell happened?" her friend demanded to know. "The last thing I remember is Yuka going nuts and me hitting the ground, and then I wake up to Ayumi sobbing like someone just killed her family pet!" She paused, and with her vision beginning to adjust to the dark without the aid of the glowing candles, Kagome could just make out the tightness in her friend's features, and the moisture in her eyes flashed as they moved to look into the space around them. "Where is Yuka? If she's trying to pull one of her stunts, I swear I'm going to…"

"Eri," Kagome called her friend's name softly as she pulled herself up from the ground, making the other's words die on her lips. She could see the frantic worry in her frond's eyes, hear it in her voice, but Kagome knew that there was nothing she could say to ease her concerns or to make this terrible ordeal any more bearable. All she knew she could do was to remain strong for the sake of her friends. When she was standing, she reached out and placed a steadying hand on Eri's shoulder, trying without words to calm the trembling she could feel coursing through her. "Don't worry," she soothed her gently. "I'm going to get Yuka back."

"Kagome…?" Turning towards the trembling voice, Kagome saw the glistening path of tears that streaked down Ayumi's face. She was so pale she almost looked like a ghost herself. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, paralyzing fear shining so clearly through the chocolaty orbs. "What…" she stuttered weakly, "What will you do? Will you…will you…?" She sobbed, unable to give the terrible thought words.

But Kagome was quick to answer the unspoken question. "No. I will not allow Kikyo to take anything more from me or the people I love."

"Kikyo?" Eri asked. She looked between Kagome and Ayumi in confusion, just knowing she was missing something. "Who's Kikyo?"

"It's a long story," Kagome replied with a sigh. She shook her head. "But now is not the time. I want you guys to go back to the road. I'll go on alone from here."

_I was alone. _

The voice had come from out of the mist, drifting through the fog like a phantom on the breeze.

Ayumi went so rigid with fright that she nearly collapsed. Reaching out quickly to keep her steady, Eri carefully moved her to stand closer with her and Kagome. "Who…Who's there?" she asked breathlessly.

But the only answer was a soft, haunting echo of a child's laughter.

_I was alone when they took me. _

Stepping in front of her friends, though still uncertain where exactly the voice was coming from, Kagome spoke to it. "When who took you?" she asked.

Again the laughter was heard, soft and chiming, sweet like the innocence of a child.

_The men. _

"The girl from the story…" Kagome heard Eri whisper from behind her.

_I didn't like that story. _Replied the voice. _She made Him sound like a monster. _

"You mean the demon?" Kagome asked. "The youkai that took vengeance for your death?"

_Sometimes I can hear him speaking to me, but She doesn't like it. She makes him go away. I wish I could see him again. I miss him so. _

Taking a step forward, Kagome asked, "Can you take me to him?"

The voice in the mist laughed again, a sound so light and carefree that it seemed impossible it could have come from a sprit, from one of the forsaken. And then suddenly, there was a shadow that passed through the mist, a slight form that was there only for an instant before it disappeared again behind on the grave markers in the distance.

It was showing her the way.

Intent on following after the spirit child, Kagome was startled when her arm was snagged from behind.

"Kagome!" Eri hissed out in a strained voice. "You can't honestly be planning on following her? You'll be walking right into whatever stupid trap Yuka has set up! I'm so sick of her games! I just want to go home! This isn't funny anymore!"

With a bitter laugh, Kagome pulled her arm away from Eri's clutches. "This stopped being funny a long time ago, Eri. That," she pointed out into the distance at the mists that had carried the voice to them, "is not Yuka. At the moment, Yuka is under the control of someone who died over five centuries ago and who has sustained her unnatural existence by feeding off the souls of the dead. This girl, whoever she is, somehow is responsible for keeping Kikyo from leaving this place; and I plan on finding out what power was capable of doing that. Because when I do, I will use it to send that clay bitch to the hell that she's been asking for ever since she stole my soul the first time around!"

She turned away from Eri and set her sights into the mists again. "Go back to the road," she repeated her instructions, but her voice was hard and unwavering, demanding compliance. She shifted slightly, pulling her bow from her shoulder fluidly and arming herself against what lay ahead. "I have a demon to find."

Not waiting for an answer, Kagome began moving after the shifting shadow darting between the markers in the cemetery. It led her on a winding path, never allowing her to get close enough to se anything but a slight shift in the swirling of the mists. And all the while, Kagome could hear the haunting echo of its laughter, the sweet melody that still caused her to shiver, because she knew that this voice, though seemingly sweet, was not nearly as innocent as it played to be.

It was a spirit, one of the unsent, a restless soul that had been denied its rest. It could not be trusted. And if the story Yuka had told held any merit of truth, then it had been this girl that had unleashed the demon, and this girl that had led so many more than the men on that night to the demon kept buried here and to their deaths.

Still, she knew that the story was missing something vital, something that would make everything fall into place, something that would make her understand, something that she could use to save her friend now and perhaps give this once-child a chance at the rest she had been so long denied.

The laughter of the girl-spirit seemed louder now, more substantial as it carried through the mist to her ears. She could feel the heavy pounding of her heart as it thundered in her chest and the tight squeezing in her lungs every time she strained to draw in a breath, and she knew she was close.

Ahead, the mist began to thin out, and Kagome slowed her pace, proceeding with cautious, guarded steps. She forced herself to take in long breaths to calm her racing heart, and her grip on her bow tightened nearly painfully as she fought with herself to still the trembling of her hands. Clearing her mind of anything but for what might lie ahead, she focused on breaking the seals of her power, preparing herself for what was to come.

_**- …SNAP!!...-**_

The sharp sound of a twig breaking underfoot from behind her shattered the meditative calm she had attempted to create. Kagome spun on her heel quickly, her hand pulling back strongly on her bowstring to set the arrow firmly in the draw.

"Gah! Watch it with that thing, would you??!!""

"Eri?" Kagome questioned weakly as she finally caught sight of her friend huddled down defensively to remove herself from the point of her arrow. The tension in her hands slowly released, and she lowered her weapon in a startled daze. "What are you doing here?"

"We couldn't let you go after her on your own."

Turning when she heard Ayumi's soft voice, Kagome continued to stare at her two friends in complete disbelief.

"You damn near took my head off," Eri muttered as she straightened herself. Once standing again, she smiled, but it was tight and forced. "Wish I had known you were so good with a bow. I might not have flunked the test in gym class."

Shaking her head to try and clear a path through her confusion, Kagome finally managed to find her voice. "You guys shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."

"For you as well, Kagome," Ayumi said softly. She stepped closer, and Kagome could clearly see the worry in her eyes. "I told Eri what happened, and we've decided. We're going with you to find Yuka."

"Guys…" Kagome tried frantically to try and think of a way to talk her friends out of doing this. She couldn't let them go. They had no idea what they were up against, no way to defend themselves if things got out of control. If it was just her, she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else getting hurt, wouldn't be giving Kikyo the opportunity to find some other way to pull her along in her twisted game, wouldn't have anything or anyone to stop her when it came down to the final moments and a choice needed to be made.

"Did you know you always make that face when you're about to lie to us?" Kagome looked up to Eri in shock, but she only shrugged. "I figured you would tell us when you were ready. Though…." She trailed off, shifting nervously as her sight settled again on the fog swirling around them. "I'm really starting to get the meaning of the saying Ignorance is Bliss." A shiver coursed through her and she turned away from the mist to focus on Kagome again. "I've never been so afraid in my entire life," she told her honestly. "If you had told me yesterday that I would know this kind of fear, I probably would have laughed."

Making a sad attempt at a smile, Eri continued, "But I think I get it now. I get why you would lie to us like you have. Because even though I'm terrified, and even though I don't know what waiting for us out there; the thought of leaving you and Yuka here without even trying to help you is just so much worse than any kind of ghost or demon or whatever it is that is in this mist. You're my friend, Kagome. We've known each other ever since we could walk. I won't leave you here to face this…thing. We started this together, and we're going to end it together."

"Friends stick together," Ayumi added once Eri had finished, and Kagome knew that nothing she could say would change their minds.

She wanted to keep them far away from this, wanted to keep them safe; but still there was a part of her that was grateful that she wouldn't have to stand alone. So, Kagome found herself nodding her acceptance. And together, the three girls turned to walk the final steps that the spirits would have them walk.

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…..It's not going to happen. Sorry folks, but no end tonight. Maybe by the end of the week. Though, reviews do help to boost my enthusiasm for writing ;P

Later days

Shadow


	9. The Crypt

The Crypt

The laughing spirit had led them to the far reaches of the graveyard, past the markers of the dead to the very gateway of the damned. It stood open before them, a great yawning maw of darkness cut into the rock. But what once had been a cave had been given structure, great pillars of marble carved intricately and set into the stone to guard the entrance of the crypt.

A massive slab of granite which had once barred the passage forward had been pushed aside to leave the way clear into the dark cavern beyond. And at its base, the girls could see the gouges in the dirt still wet with moisture from the passage of the door opened without hands, opened in anticipation of their coming.

"That thing must weigh over a ton," Eri whispered in disbelief. "How could anything have moved it like that?"

Kagome had been wondering the same thing. Sprits had no corporeal form, couldn't touch or feel the objects in the world of the living. They could manipulate things by will and by maneuvering the weak threads of psychic energy that drifted into the mortal plane, but such a massive object should have been beyond their capabilities, was even beyond any human capabilities. Whoever had built this crypt must have known this, must have thought that by blocking the spirits away they were preventing them from escaping into the world of men and keeping the world around them safe from entering into their domain. But still the stone slab stood open before them, still something or someone of incredible strength had moved it aside to leave the way clear into the crypt beyond.

Was there another presence here? Was there some other force at work besides the vengeful spirit of Kikyo and the lost child that had led them to this place? Did the demon spoken of in the story still hold power in this realm? Was it what waited for them beyond in the darkness?

"Kagome?"

Turning away from her thoughts, Kagome looked over at her friend. She shook her head slowly. "I don't know, Eri. I just don't know."

_**-...RRRRIIIPPPP…-**_

The sound of heavy fabric being torn through roughly had Kagome and Eri spinning quickly towards to face it.

"Ayumi!" Eri cried out in fright.

Straightening from her crouched position on the ground, Ayumi looked up to her friends in a daze. "What?" she asked in shock.

Eri stuttered and then huffed angrily. "What are you doing?!"

Ayumi shrugged and went back to tearing the flowing layers of her gown. "This thing is made up of mostly nylon and plastic. It'll make a sticky resin that should burn bright enough to light that place up."

Finishing tearing off the strip she had been working on, she reached down beside her and picked up a gnarled old stick from the ground. Wrapping the bit of pink cloth around one end tightly, she held it up for a moment in front of her friends before flicking the small lighter she had used to light the candles and bringing the flame to the cloth. Immediately, the flame caught the fabric, leaping up in a bright blue blaze that spread quickly to envelop the entire end of the make-shift torch. The light layers of cloth were consumed almost instantly in the intense heat of the flame, but the burn began to wear itself out, the unnatural blue flame being steadily taken over by an orange glow. The hissing and bubbling of burning chemicals continued as the resin left over after the initial blaze continued to burn, and Ayumi held it out for Eri to take as she set to work making another.

Eri stared into the orange flames licking off the end of her torch in awe. "How did you ever think of this?" she asked.

Ayumi didn't look up from her task to reply. "Chemistry class, Eri. Some of us don't sleep through the entire thing."

Laughing nervously, Eri quickly handed the torch she was holding over to Kagome. She accepted the next small branch from Ayumi, and lit it while her friend put the finishing touches on her own. When the girls each were holding a burning torch, they turned towards the dark opening in the stone.

"You guys ready?" Kagome asked them quietly.

Eri and Ayumi exchanged a nervous glance before setting their sights ahead and nodding. No more words were spoken as they crept slowly towards the entrance to the ancient crypt.

Stepping past the massive stone that had guarded the entrance of this place carefully, the girls paused just inside to let their vision adjust. Their eyes swept over the acid-smoothed walls lit by the flickering orange light of their torches guardedly, straining to see past the dark shadows cast by the light into the space beyond.

"Stay behind me."

Kagome's voice broke through the deathly silence of the crypt, causing Eri to jump slightly and huddle closer to Ayumi. Looking over her shoulder, Kagome offered her friend a small, supportive smile before turning her focus back to the path ahead. Slowly, she began leading them deeper into the dark recesses of the crypt. Every step and the darkness around them seemed to draw in closer, becoming so heavy it was almost something of substance that they could feel pressing in on them.

There was evil in this place, Kagome could feel it in the creeping feeling that slinked down her spine and flowed through her senses like a thick syrup of warning. But she fought through the feeling. She had to remain strong, had to appear confident for her terrified friends. If only an illusion, it was one from which they could gain some measure of security from in this dark place, and Kagome was determined to give them all the strength that she could. Because she knew that something waited here in these dark passages, and she knew that if her friends saw her crack and break under the weight of this knowledge that they would all be lost. So she kept herself hard, kept her fear locked away, and continued leading them deeper and deeper into the shadows.

Behind Kagome, Eri and Ayumi were huddled close together, their hands entwined to give each other silent support and their opposite arms stretched out to allow the meager light their torches were creating to spread through the dark passage. They were watching so intently the shadows around them, that when Kagome drew to an abrupt stop, they failed to notice and bumped into her from behind.

"Ka…Kagome?" Eri stuttered once she had regained her bearings. She tried peering over her friend's shoulder, but could make out nothing beyond the small circle of light around them. "Is…Is there something wrong?"

For a moment, Kagome said nothing; her sight trained directly ahead of her at the shadow she knew was not cast by these dark walls. The others couldn't see her, but Kagome could. She was much closer now; almost close enough for Kagome to make out a distant form apart from the shadows in which she stood. She was so small, so much a child. How terrible it must have been for her to be trapped alone in this place with those wicked men.

But the sprit did not move. It remained standing in front of her, a part of the shadows. Finally, Kagome responded to Eri's question. "The girl's spirit is just ahead of us. She seems to be waiting for something."

"Waiting…?" Again Eri tried to see what lay in the shadows ahead of Kagome, but again she saw nothing. "Are you sure, Kagome?"

As if in answer to her question, the entire passageway was suddenly filled with a horrible grinding sound. It reverberated against the walls enclosing them, the sound a deafening roar in the silence of the crypt.

"What's happening?!" Eri yelled over the noise. "It sounds like the whole place is coming down!"

Lifting her hand sharply, Kagome motioned for silence. Behind her, Eri sputtered with indignation, but before she could say anything more, Ayumi had placed a hand on her arm to steady her. She couldn't explain it, wasn't even sure if she had seen what she thought she had seen, but Ayumi was certain that something strange was happening to Kagome. There was a feeling pulsing in the air around her, something like being covered in a warm blanket, soothing and gentle. And with this feeling, she thought she saw a faint iridescent light flowing from her friend's body. Before she hadn't been certain, hadn't thought it was possible that Kagome's claims went beyond her knowledge or experience. But now she knew. Kagome was a miko. And it was her power she was seeing.

The grinding began to fade, left as nothing but a terrible echo in their ears and a chilling memory to haunt their minds with the unknown. Silence once again filled the crypt, and Kagome whispered to her friends her final warning.

"There is someone else here. Be on your guard."

Eri gulped in uncertainty and fear as she watched Kagome begin walking again. But a soft pull against her arm from Ayumi had her reluctantly falling in step with the others. They walked a short distance, their steps slow and cautious. Nerves had been strung out past their tolerance, and in every flicker of the flame there seemed to be something more than just shadows shifting around them.

When Kagome stopped again, they had come to the end of the passageway. Their torchlight reflected back at them from the smooth surface of the wall blocking the way forward, the dancing flames seeming to cast more shadows than light. But it was here, in the centre of a small chamber, the focal point of the crypt, that a stone sarcophagus stood sentinel, the final defense in preserving the dead, or perhaps the living.

It was open. The heavy slab that had sealed it had been pushed away, the dust around the seals still settling from the forcing grind of stone against stone.

Huddled together in a tight group, the girls began inching their way towards the stone monument. It stood as high as their waists, the heavy blocks that formed its sturdy structure so thick that they couldn't see past them until they were nearly standing right on top of it. Pausing only for a moment to steel herself against what may lie within, Kagome took the lead and leaned over the edge to see into the dark depths of the stone casket.

She stiffened in shock the instant her torch managed to illuminate the depths of the old tomb. Sweeping her arm the full length of the stone enclosure, confusion overtook her when she realized it was empty.

"There's nothing in here," Eri sated the blatantly obvious.

Kagome shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense. This is where the spirit led us, and what else could have made that sound if it wasn't this stone slab being moved away? What…" She trailed off, her eyes seeing something that he hadn't before. There was a…light, like a spark that had settled onto the stone. But it wasn't on the stone; it seemed to be coming from within it.

"Kagome?"

"Just hang back a sec," Kagome told Eri over her shoulder. She pushed the other girl away slightly to give herself more room to move, and then carefully leaned over the side of the sarcophagus, her hand reaching down into its depths to try and touch the faint glimmer of light she had seen within.

Seeing her friend straining to reach, Eri quickly took hold of Kagome's waist to steady her as she tilted precariously against he stone surface.

Ayumi was about to help as well, but before she could move to help her friends, she thought she heard something from behind her. Taking in a sharp breath, she spun around quickly, the arm holding her torch extended in warding. Her features drew tight when she saw nothing more than the dancing light of the flame and the shifting of the shadows beyond. She could have sworn that she heard something.

Shaking her head, thinking that it was just this creepy place playing tricks with her mind, she began to turn back. However, as she made the movement, she caught sight of something that wasn't a shadow. She cried out, but her warning would come too late.

Breaking away from her concealment in the dark shadows of the crypt, Yuka threw her full weight against Ayumi. The girl stumbled back, unable to keep her balance, and she ran straight into Eri. The sudden jarring caused Eri to loose her grip on Kagome, but the young priestess' scream as she fell into the crypt was lost in Eri's ears as she struggled to keep her own footing. But her own unsteady position leaning over the stone chamber combined with the weight of her fiend being thrown against her soon had Eri falling into the chamber after Kagome, and Ayumi followed close behind.

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Well, that was fun, but I've got some stuff to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to get another chapter up tonight. And then….only about two chapters left (I know, I said three like three chapters ago, but seriously, this story is just being annoyingly stubborn in the whole getting to the point thing).

Anyways, till next time.

Shadow


	10. Caught in Limbo

Caught in Limbo

The three girls tumbled into the stone sarcophagus, but rather than hitting the bottom only a few short feet from where they had entered, they continued falling. Panic taking hold, their voices rose up in shrill screams as they plummeted into the darkness below. An eternity seemed to pass, time slowing down as they were caught in an endless freefall.

The impact, when it finally came, was jarring. A sickening crunch was heard as their bodies slammed uninhibitedly against the uneven surface, something beneath them breaking and giving way under the force of the impact abd the shattering debris showering down on the girls in an unforgiving rain of sharp edges that buried them under their weight.

A silence followed, broken only by the sharp, panicked breaths of those trapped beneath. Fear bound them in place, a residual terror that refused to leave them. And darkness had taken over once more, so thick it was palatable, something of substance that seemed to take the air from their lungs as they struggled to regain their senses after the terrible fall.

Finally, movement was heard. Debris was being pushed away, rattling against more uneven surfaces as it tumbled down from the heap.

"Kagome? Ayumi?" Eri's hushed voice was strained as she dug herself out of the pile of debris, calling into the darkness for her friends.

"I…I'm here,' Ayumi replied breathlessly from her right.

Shifting herself carefully against the pile, slipping precariously as the fragments beneath her shifted and buckled under her weight, Eri made her way over to Ayumi. She called out to her friend, using the soft replies of her voice to find the place where she was buried beneath the debris and helping to clear the way for her to emerge. When at last their hands touched, both girls released a heavy sigh of relief and Eri pulled Ayumi out from where she had been trapped, helping to steady her on the uneven surface. They were both trembling, adrenaline surging through them to give them strength. But as they looked around them into the darkness, they knew that there was still someone missing.

"Kagome?" Eri called her name again. "Can you hear me?"

Groaning miserably, her body still tingling with the spiritual energy flowing through her, Kagome finally found her voice to answer. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Kagome…?"

Standing up, miraculously free of the debris that had trapped her friends, Kagome brushed absently at her clothing to throw off the layer of dust. "Yeah," she said again. "I'm alright, just a little dazed."

"Maybe she hit her head in the fall?" Ayumi whispered anxiously. "Maybe she can't answer."

Kagome paused her absent brushing and looked up sharply. "Guys, I'm right here!"

"We've got to find her," Eri was saying. "She could be hurt….or…."

"Don't say it, Eri," Ayumi cut her off. "I know she's fine. She has to be."

"Hey!" Kagome cried frantically. "Stop talking like that you two! I'm right here!" Waving her hands frantically through the hazy darkness, Kagome tried to capture their attention, but her friends didn't see, they couldn't. They began moving away from her, their hands groping along the uneven pile they had landed in

"I think I see one of our torches over there," Eri said. "If I can just reach it…KIIIYYYAAA!!!!"

"ERI!!!"

Ayumi was knocked back against the debris pile when Eri's sudden lurching sent her sprawling back against her. Her whole body was shaking in terror, and Ayumi wrapped her arms protectively around her friend to try and soothe her.

"Eri?" she called her name softly.

The girl trembled again, chocking on the words she was trying to force herself to say. "B…B…Bones…" she finally managed to say. "They're all…They're all bones!"

"What are you…?" Ayumi's question was cut off prematurely when her eyes finally managed to take focus. There, being illuminated by the faint glow of their dying torch, the hollow black eyes of a skull peered back at her. She screamed, her grip on Eri tightening nearly painfully as panic took over again.

"Ayumi…" Eri grunted from her strangle-hold in the girl's arms. But Ayumi's shrill scream continued pouring out of her, her body frozen in terror so acute it had stolen over everything else. Twisting herself roughly in the other's girl's hold, Eri grabbed onto her friends shoulders and shook her hard. "Ayumi! Stop this! I'm here. It's alright."

Her scream finally dying on her lips, Ayumi focused her teary eyes on her friend. She could form no words, only whimper desperately. Eri nodded in silent understanding, and carefully started pulling her friend away from the pile of bones. Once they were clear, their feet falling on soft dirt instead of crunching against old bones, Eri looked back

"I'm going back for the torch," she told Ayumi quietly, "And for Kagome."

Ayumi's hand tightened around hers, but Eri hushed her gently, whispering soft assurances to her stricken friend and promising she would return for her; and eventually, Ayumi let her go.

Kagome had watched the whole scene play out before her, but no matter how loudly she had called out to her friends, they couldn't hear her voice. It was really starting to creep her out. But, realizing that something must have happened to her when she had crossed over into the crypt, she wasn't overly worried about it. She couldn't be dead; that experience, she knew, would likely have been accompanied with first the presence of Kikyo taunting her with her glorious victory over her pathetic reincarnation followed by being cast into oblivion. It would have sucked, sure, but at least she wouldn't be stuck in this…this…limbo.

Still, Kagome wasn't about to stand around and let her friends go thinking she was dead if she could help it. And she could, she told herself firmly. She could make them see her. At least…she thought she could.

Pushing away her nagging doubts, Kagome focused on drawing up her energies. She could see them flowing away from her body in a gentle wake of brilliant light, illuminating her entire form in a soft glow of iridescence. She reached out to Eri as she approached, noticing for the first time that her hand wasn't quite as solid as it should have been, maintaining a kind of transparency that allowed her to see straight through her skin to the bones and beyond, and almost out through the other side.

Despite her resolve, she shivered. Now she was no less a specter than the spirit she had followed to this place, one with the dead.

But Kagome would not be held by her fear; she would not be swayed from her course by mere thoughts of dark images. She hardened herself, firmly blocking away any further thoughts beyond what she had set out to do.

Eri was right in front of her now, shuffling slowly ahead through the darkness, sidestepping bits of broken bone when her footfalls were hindered by their presence. She had been following the faint glow from the torch to lead her back to the pile of bones, and even in the darkness, she should have seen the shadow that passed in front of the light. But she did not see, and she kept moving forward.

Sending a silent prayer to the Gods, Kagome reached out and set her hand on her friend's shoulder. Immediately, Eri drew to a halt, her breath catching on a startled draw and her eyes sweeping frantically through the darkness to find the source of the disturbance.

"Eri," Kagome called her name, but using more than her voice to convey the message. Her powers were flowing freely around her, coursing through the air on soft currents of pure energy. She directed them to flow into her friend, for her to feel the warmth offered by the light. And under her touch, Eri seemed to relax. "I'm with you," Kagome whispered through the soft currents of energy passing between her and her friend. "Be strong for each other now. I promise, I will find you again."

Tears filled Eri's eyes as she stood alone in the darkness. There were no words, no feelings associated with touch, nothing but the knowledge that came to her in the darkness. "Kagome…" She whispered her friend's name, somehow knowing that she had felt her touch without ever really feeling it. She was here, lost somewhere in the darkness, but just beyond her reach. Silently, her tear fell from her eyes, but still she understood. She had to go forward. She had to find the way out of this crypt. For her sake, and for all her friends.

Brushing harshly and determinedly at the moisture streaming down her face, Eri started moving again towards the faint flicker of the flame.

Kagome smiled as she stood back to allow her friend passage. She hadn't been certain if she could reach Eri, but she had. She had given her friends the support she knew they needed even from this place where she could no longer reach them. Still, she knew that there was a reason for her being trapped in such a way, and the soft echo of laughter coming from the darkness beyond only proved it.

Knowing there was nothing more she could do for her friends, Kagome turned from them and began following the sound of the child's voice. Around her, flowing over the uneven surfaces of the cave walls as she followed the twisting passageway, her powers lit the way ahead in a soft blue light that parted the darkness. She walked quickly with determined strides, intent on bringing this horror to its completion as quickly as possible. She couldn't leave her friends to wander in this dark place alone for long, not knowing that somewhere in these caverns Kikyo still lay in wait and that the demon had yet to be found.

She followed to where she was being led, the haunting echo of the child's voice the only sound she heard. Her feet didn't touch the ground as she walked, and the air she breathed didn't enter into her lungs. She had been pulled into the realm of spirits, into the land of the dead, to see with their eyes and know the secrets only they could tell.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Eri….?" Ayumi questioned weakly as she watched her friend approach. She was carrying the torch, but in the flickering cast of the light she was alone.

Eri shook her head, knowing what Ayumi wanted to ask. "Kagome isn't there. It's like she just disappeared…" She paused in uncertainty, not sure how to explain what had happened, what she had felt, how she was unjustifiably certain that though she had not seen her Kagome was still safe…somewhere. "Don't worry, Ayumi," she chose to say instead. "She'll be fine. I know it."

Though not understanding her friend's certainty, Ayumi nodded weakly in acceptance. "What do we do now?" she asked quietly.

Eri looked past Ayumi into the winding passageway beyond. Her lungs tightened at the very thought of going any further into this old crypt, but she knew there was no way around it. They needed to find another way out. "We go forward," she said, pointing with the torch to cast light into the darkness beyond.

Together, the girls turned and began to slowly make their way through the gloom, winding through the rough passageways cut into the stone. They had only made it a short distance when they were brought to a stop. A crossroads lay ahead, the path branching out in two directions before them.

"Which way?" Ayumi asked, her eyes shifting from one dark passageway to the next.

"I don't…" Eri was cut off by the sound of something scrapping against the stone. She heard Ayumi gasp, but she quickly covered her friend's mouth with her free hand to keep her silent. The sound came again, more distinct than before, and Eri was certain that the soft scraping she was hearing was the sound of footsteps.

Pulling Eri's hand away from her mouth, Ayumi asked in a hushed whisper, "Do you think it's Kagome? Or…Yuka?"

"I don't know," Eri whispered back with a slight shake of her head. She looked back to Ayumi, her dark eyes hard as they glinted in the light of the torch. "I'm going to find out. You wait here."

"No!" Ayumi gasped fearfully. "You can't…!" But Eri had already stared moving down the passageway towards the sound.

Releasing a strained breath, Ayumi made to follow; but she had only taken a step when suddenly the path ahead erupted in a terrible wall of crimson fire. She stumbled back, her arms coming up instinctively to shield her face from the intense heat. The ground trembled in the wake of the fires, a terrible shudder the spread through the stone of the crypt and shook free large sections to come crashing down into the passageway.

Ayumi was thrown to the ground, unable to keep steady on her feet in the terrible shaking of the cave-in. All around her, the fire still burned, a terrible red that seared against the stone. And in the light of those flames, stepping forward on bent limbs of sickly green, the demon who had called up the fires emerged.

Scrambling back from the hideous beast in sheer terror, she released a shrill, piercing scream that carried through even the thick of the stone to fill the underground crypt with her horror.

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You know, it doesn't really matter that I'm not getting many reviews for this story. I like it :P It's all spooky and creepy and mysterious; just perfect for a Halloween story…even if Halloween is over for another year. Besides, I've mange to scare a couple of people (other than myself…I seriously don't recommend writing old ghost stories while alone at night), so that's good enough for me.

Anyways, that's enough for now. Later all.

Shadow


	11. No Going Back

No Going Back

"AYUMI!!!!!!!"

Eri cried frantically over the roar of the falling stone around her. She could hear her friend's scream, horrible and piercing in the depths of this stone prison; but her way back had been cut off, the massive sections of stone shaken loose by the cave-in barring the way.

She sobbed brokenly, her hands tearing at the sections of stone, frantically trying to move them aside even though she knew she could never hope to lift their massive weight. This couldn't be happening, was the thought that kept playing over and over in her mind. If only she had stayed with her, if only she hadn't left her alone in this terrible crypt, if only…

"Ayumi…" The name was chocked out on another heavy sob, and Eri's legs gave way beneath the impossible weight settled upon her by her own failure. She sagged down onto the rocks beneath her, her whole body overtaken by wrenching sobs and pulsing shivers of dread. Ayumi's scream had faded into the deathly silence of the crypt, leaving Eri with only the sound of her own suffering to echo back at her through the suffocating darkness.

"No…" She couldn't believe what was happening, couldn't stand the thought of being trapped alone in this place of darkness and despair. She couldn't…she just couldn't. She was breaking against the surface of the unforgiving stone, her courage slipping away into the shadows like on of the phantoms that prowled through these dark caverns, fear and hopelessness taking over in its place. She would die here, the though came unbidden, but insistent in the darkness that had taken over in her mind. Trapped like the sprits, sealed away like those unfortunates whose bones were the only reminder of the lives they had once lived; the crypt would have her as well.

"NO!!!" Her voice lifted up around her, a blade that cut through the entrapments of darkness and despair. It was something primal, something within her that had broken and surged up with wild determination, that refused to give in to this madness, refused to lie down and die in this unforgiving place.

Her breathing was sharp and labored, draughts of air coming in on panting gasps to fill her lungs and spread strength through her body on surging pulses of adrenaline. She pushed herself to her feet roughly, her hand clutching tightly to her only source of light in this dark place. Her eyes were hard as they peered ahead into the shadows of the unknown, anger and fury driving her as never before. She would not give in to this. She would not simply let this place have her.

She took one step forward, and then another. She was alone now, leaving behind the last of her friends. But she would move forward, and she would not look back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sounds of voices were muffled and indistinct as they reached her ears, and Kagome paused for a moment in uncertainty. Had she made the right choice in leaving them behind? She wondered. Were they still safe here, alone and trapped in this dark passage? All around her, she could hear the trembling of the earth, the loud groans of ancient protest coming from the stones. Had she been wrong to follow the voice of this spirit? Had she made a terrible mistake?

It was the silence that brought Kagome back from her thoughts to focus once again on her surroundings, a silence so deep it was chilling. Not even the haunting echo of the child's voice carried to her in this deep silence. It was as though everything around her had suddenly stilled, caught in a moment of anticipation, waiting for something to happen.

Kagome swallowed thickly, her translucent limbs still feeling very real as they trembled with the cold shiver that spread through her body. There was something ahead, a light that called to her in the darkness, that beaconed her to come and discover the secrets that had been buried here for far too long. Taking in a deep breath to steady herself and still the trembling in her limbs, she stepped forward to meet it.

Around her, the walls opened to form a cavern in the stone passageway. And within, in the light cast off by the flickering flames that dispelled the darkness of the cavern's depth, She stood waiting. A ghost of the present looking down upon her past, the spirit-child stood above the image of what once was her, what once was the body that held her now restless spirit.

Her back was turned, her identity still concealed from Kagome's eyes; but she could hear her voice, so clear in this place of sprits and lost memories.

"I have been waiting for a long time. So long…"

The girl trailed off, her voice so sad that Kagome couldn't stop the urge to go to her, to offer her some kind of comfort in this cold world she had been left to. "Let me help you," she told the spirit gently. "Let me help you find your rest."

The girl shook her head, the dark hair spilling over her shoulders shimmering faintly as it caught the light. "You do not understand. I can not rest, not so long as She lives."

"Kikyo…"

There is power in speaking the names of the dead, and as Kikyo's name spilled from her lips, Kagome could see the air in the tomb shifting, rising up from the ground like waves of heat in the midday sun. The rippling waves began drawing together, building upon each other until they began to take shape and form. And when the distortions finally cleared, it was Kikyo's face that she saw.

"Yes," the spirit child replied. "She thought she could use me, thought that in my death she could gain life."

Seeing the image of Kikyo standing over the form of the broken girl laid out on the ground of the crypt, the beginnings of understanding began to form in Kagome's mind. "She wanted to feed on your soul."

But again the spirit child shook her head. "Not mine," she replied, lifting her hand, glimmering in spectral translucence in the light cast by the fire, to point a slender finger towards the other side of the room. "His."

In response to her words, another shift in the spirit plane began to take on form. Kagome watched in restless anticipation, knowing that this was the missing piece to the story, that it was here she would find the answers she needed. But when the image pulled from the memories of the sprit child finally cleared away from the rippling distortions that called it into this plane, Kagome gasped in horror.

"It can't be…" Her words trembled so fiercely they were barely distinguishable, but no matter how much she wished she could deny what she was seeing, she could not. There, in the light of the spirit's memory, stood the demon that had reaped vengeance for the loss of his child, for the loss of his light and his heart. And even in the pale glimmer of a memory, she could see the crimson fury that burned around him and reflected in the harden gold of his eyes.

"Sesshomaru…"

But Kagome knew then, knew that there could be no other that He would have gone to such lengths to atone for not being there in her moment of need. There were tears in her eyes when she turned back to the spirit child; and as the girl turned to face her, even before she had seen her face, Kagome knew who it was that had met such a terrible fate in this dark pit.

"Rin…"

The girl smiled in recognition of her name, but not one filled with her radian joy that Kagome had so often seen in her life. Her smile was brittle, cold with the pain of her solitude and her haunting memories.

"I have waited for so long," the girl told her in a voice wrapped in pain. "I am tired."

"I understand," Kagome whispered softly in response to the girl's pain. She took a small step forward, reaching out her hand to the spirit child. "Let me help you." She was pleading. She couldn't bare the thought of the horrors this child had endured, this child she had known, had laughed and smiled with, had held in her arms. "Let me take you to your rest."

"NO!!" The air around the spirit child suddenly whipped up in a fury of commotion. It tore through the cavern, ripping against the walls in a howl of anguish. "You don't understand!" The spirit accused her angrily. "It is happening again! She will not rest until she is free of her prison! You will see! You must!"

"Rin, please…!" Kagome was crouched low against the torrent of the winds. They were ripping against her senses like blades of fire, tearing into her to leave in their wake a numbing cold like clammy hands grasping and pulling against her. She was trembling, even when her powers surged around her in a brilliant barrier of defense, still she could hear the howling anguish carried upon those winds and feel the cold dread of their deathly caress.

But the spirit would not be stopped. She had waited for far too long for the eyes which could see, which could finally understand. And now that she was here, there was no going back. The past would live again in the eyes of this miko. Only then could she ever truly understand, and only then could she ever hope to save any of the lost souls trapped in this pit of despair.

The winds continued to howl, but not winds, not really. They were voices, memories, emotions; all that had made her in her life. She would use that last of her waning strength to relive the past once more. All her hope now rested in the hands of the miko who had come from her past and fallen in to the curse of her present. She could hear the pleas of the living one, and she understood her pain. But pain was nothing to her anymore, not anymore.

"You will see," the spirit child said again. "You will see, and you will understand."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tricky….You know, overlapping three planes of existence in one room at the same time is not something I recommend trying to do. It is extremely frustrating. But I think I've figured out the trick to it…well, I hope I have, or else writing the next chapter is going to get messy. Still, I'm going to try.

So, till then.

Shadow


	12. Voices of the Past

Voices of the Past

The tearing and howling of the winds wrapped around Kagome so tightly they stole the very air that she breathed. But as one with the spirit realm, there was no need for air, only the mortal consciousness that breathing was necessary and that without it she could not survive. She struggled against the onslaught, finally giving in to her mortal fear and lashing out at the invisible winds with her body and her mind, throwing power recklessly into the formless, substanceless trappings that held her bound helplessly in their midst.

She tried to move, but her feet were no longer touching the ground, as though she were once again caught in an endless freefall, unable to break away. She screamed then, fear becoming all she knew; but her voice was lost in the endless howling, joining with it, rising the pitch to a terrible cadence that seemed to consume everything. The sound was all she knew, the howling anguish that tore through her very soul.

Trapped in chaos, lost in misery, alone and helpless against the anguish and suffering. She was one with the damned, a tortured soul crying out as they did against their never-ending torment.

But no. Somewhere in the chaos, somewhere amidst the suffering and the turmoil, somewhere in the darkness enclosing upon her; she knew. She knew she was not a part of this place, knew that she was more than a sprit carried upon those terrible winds, knew that she had been brought here for a purpose, knew that she was still needed.

A flicker of light appeared suddenly in the distance, something so out of place in the raging torment around her it seemed like a mirage, a false beacon of hope. But still she reached out to it, desperate to be freed from the madness that tore at her from all sides, unable to turn away from the light of hope no matter how tiny and frail. The light grew brighter, calming the restless winds around her as it wrapped her in its gentle warmth; and the terrible howling faded into the distance, becoming nothing more than a faint echo on the breeze.

Slowly, the light began to fade, steadily being taken over by the shadows being cast by the walls around her. But the winds had died, their terrible madness cleared away and leaving her free to see and hear once more. When her vision finally cleared, Kagome looked around her, peering into the hazy darkness. As before, she stood in the chamber in the underground crypt. Faint illumination was being cast against the dark stone walls by a scattering of torches left discarded to burn themselves out on the cavern floor. There was silence here, deep and penetrating, so deathly still when compared to the turbulent thunder of the howling winds from which she had emerged. She could hear the sound of her own breathing sharply in stillness, short gasping breaths that never seemed to draw in enough air.

"Rin?" she called the girl's name hesitantly, her hushed voice echoing back to her off the stone. But there was no answer to her query, not even the haunting laughter which had led her to this place.

Kagome looked around in confusion. What had happened? Why had the spirit abandoned her now when she was so close to finding out the truth of what had happened? Was there something she was supposed to learn from those terrible winds, some message she simply couldn't hear in the turbulence and the madness? Had she lost her connection with the girl?

"Please," she called out desperately. She needed to know how the spirits had been trapped here, needed to understand what had happened. "Answer me."

"You think you can save her even now?"

The voice came so suddenly and so unexpectedly, that Kagome jumped in fright. She spun around hastily to see the one that had spoken, only to find herself looking into a mirror, but a mirror distorted by time and altered by presence. It wasn't the image of herself she was seeing. Rather, it was Kikyo.

In her daze at finding the chamber occupied by another presence, Kagome fumbled to form words. But before she had even formed a coherent thought, another voice broke through the stillness to give a reply.

"Why give her life again when it would only be plagued by such dark remembrances?"

His voice seemed to fill the space of the crypt; the smooth tenor only just concealing the raw vibrations of hungry power just beneath the surface. Dazedly, Kagome turned to face him. He stepped out of the dark shadows, just as proud and strong as she had always seen him. But his eyes, the piercing gold that could send shivers down the spines of mortal men with only a look, were darkened on this night, and it was not because of the depths in which they stood.

"Sesshomaru…" His name slipped from her lips unbidden, a soft whisper filled with sympathy for his loss.

Something flashed in his eyes at the sound of her voice, something more than the fires lighting the cavern. But he did not turn to look at her, didn't even make any acknowledgement of her presence. His eyes remained focused on the undead miko, piercing the distance between them like blades of golden fire.

"You would deny her life?" Kikyo asked in a dark whisper. "Then perhaps you will not care to know that I have taken her death as well." She lifted her hand, placing it above her breast, and from within her false body of clay a faint glow emanated.

"Kikyo," Kagome whispered in horror, "You monster."

But the dead miko did not turn to the sound of her voice, couldn't hear the words spoken by the living priestess in the present. And Kagome understood. She knew now what the spirit had done. She had been taken back to that moment in time, to witness herself the events that had transpired. She would watch, and she would learn. She was being shown the secrets carried by the dead through their eyes.

Kikyo's threat didn't even faze Sesshomaru. He took a threatening step forward, advancing on the dead miko with obvious intent. "You will release her." It was a command, one for which there was no room for deviancy.

"Or what?" Kikyo scoffed in return. "You will kill me? It is too late for that."

A slow, vengeful smirk spread across Sesshomaru's lips in response to her words. "Foolish creature; even the dead can not escape my wrath."

"Perhaps," Kikyo replied unconcernedly. "But kill me, and you will be condemning this child's spirit to burn in hell for all eternity. By your own hand will she suffer again and again the terrors she endured on this night, the terrors enforced upon her by your failure."

A low growl broke out of Sesshomaru then, filling the cavern with its dangerous vibrations. "You are sealing your fate by your words here, wench."

"My fate?" She smiled at the word, but it was a smile filled with hatred. "It is not my fate we are discussing. It is hers, and it is yours."

"Enough!" Stepping towards her again, Sesshomaru flexed his claws at his side. "This Sesshomaru will hear no more of your wretched words and pathetic attempts at maneuvering."

"Then I will make it simple for you, Sesshomaru," Kikyo replied. "I propose a trade: her soul for yours."

In a movement so fast it couldn't be registered, Sesshomaru had closed the gap between him and Kikyo. His clawed hand wrapped around her neck in an unyielding grip, lifting her roughly to dangle in the air before him. "You are a fool of a woman to even think to try and manipulate this Sesshomaru," he bit out in a voice tarnished by the deep vibrations of the beast.

She didn't struggle in his hold, didn't try to remove herself from his deadly claws, didn't so much flinch when he began applying pressure against her unnatural skin. She simply locked her cold, dead eyes onto his, never wavering from her air of confidence and superiority.

"What does it matter to one who is dead?" she bit out coolly. "I tire of this repulsive existence. I want a life, a real life."

Sesshomaru lifted his lip in disgust as he glared down at the dead miko. "Impossible. You are of the dead. You can not live again."

Kikyo tilted her chin up defiantly from within his iron hold. "You are wrong," she told him firmly. "I live now. From the souls of the dead, I can sustain myself. But with a living soul, I will finally be free."

"Then you are more of a fool than I would have thought," Sesshomaru scoffed. Without warning, he shifted, throwing her from his grasp to slam into the rock walls of the cave. Towering above her crumpled form, he glared murderously down upon her. "This Sesshomaru would never give in to the likes of you."

Laughter began to spread out through the cavern, low and wicked, but growing in volume as Kikyo began to pull her broken body of clay away from the stone. "Then she shall never be free," she hissed out between vile bouts of laughter. "Her spirit shall be consumed within me, starving as I feed upon her." Using the wall to steady herself, Kikyo finally turned back to Sesshomaru, her eyes finding his to speak to him without words of the darkness that sustained her preternatural form. "And when there is nothing left, when her soul is useless to me any longer; then I shall cast her into oblivion, leaving her only with the knowledge that the one she loved so dearly was the one that had condemned her."

"Vengeful spirit!" Sesshomaru rasped in fury. "Death is too merciful for the likes of you!"

The earth trembled as it was forced to bear the burden of his wrath. Crimson fire spread like lightning to sear everything in its path. And in the centre of the raging fire a spark was ignited that burned so brightly it rivaled the sun. White-hot, it cut its path without remorse. Driven not by hatred or anger or for revenge; it was love that guided the Fang of Heaven to save a soul trapped by the clammy hands of death.

Kikyo's scream of horror was lost in the song of the pulsing blade, her anguish not of its purpose nor care. It pierced her unliving flesh like it was nothing, tearing through to the very spirit which gave her unnatural life. And it was to that spirit, that formed of so many others who had been denied their rest, that Tenseiga bound itself.

The raging fire began to subside, and Sesshomaru stepped away from the one that had brought this curse upon one of such a pure heart. His hand left the hilt of the sword embedded in the stone, the sword that had pierced the dark heart of the walking dead.

"May you live forever."

His words were spoken into the darkness, a curse and a prayer in one. And then he turned and began walking away.

"It can't…" Kagome sobbed heavily and fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her face at the unspeakable things she had just seen. "It can't end like this," she chocked out. "There must be another way."

On the other side of the chamber, Sesshomaru paused. His head tilted slightly to the side as though he were listening for a breath, but then he shook his head and continued on.

"There is no other way," his voice carried back through the darkness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This chapter was the key to making this story work, and also the reason I knew what was going to happen before it happened. I knew that I couldn't walk into a story of such complexity without having a good way to pull it all together, and, thanks to my all time favorite prop from any media, I found it. So, I hope everyone enjoyed my toils. I should be wrapping this story up in another chapter or so.

But that's all for tonight. So later.

Shadow


	13. A New Ending

A New Ending

Silence filled the crypt once more, and the darkness closed in around her. The only thing left illuminating the young miko as she kneeled against the cold stone was the eerie blue light still emanating from the miraculous Fang. But she could hardly bare to bring herself to look upon it. For in that light, held sealed eternally in this crypt by Tenseiga's power, Kikyo's clay body was pinned against the stone, the spirits contained within bound as surely as her unnatural flesh.

_May you live forever._ She understood now how Kikyo had been trapped in this place, unable to rest, unable to move on. But Rin too had been bound here, her spirit as restless to end her eternity as Kikyo's. But Kagome understood. She knew why he had done it. To destroy Kikyo, he would have had to destroy Rin's spirit as well. And no matter how cold or how ruthless he made himself seem, Sesshomaru was not without heart. He couldn't bear to be the one to condemn the little girl that had given him such devotion and such love. To do so would be a dishonor against her, and against himself. But to give in to Kikyo's demands, to sacrifice his life for one who had already died, would have been just as much a disgrace.

Death is inevitable; and for some, even welcome.

_Why give her life again when it would only be plagued by such dark remembrances?_ Kagome herself had pleaded with the girl's spirit to let her help guide her to her rest. She had suffered so much; it simply wasn't fair to ask her to suffer any more. In her death she should have been freed of the pains of her life. She should have been granted her rest. And yet she had been denied, her eternal slumber stolen and made into some hideous nightmare by Kikyo's deplorable actions.

But then…Kikyo had also been denied her rest, been forced to live with only the dark memories of her past. She had convinced herself that the only way to be free of the curse set upon her was to force another into willing relinquishing their living soul. But why Sesshomaru? She should have known that he would never succumb to such a manipulation, would never allow himself to be threatening into anything, would never suffer through such a deplorable act without retaliation. She should have known. She must have known.

"Do you see now? Do you understand?"

The voice of the spirit child whispered from the shadows around her, no longer having the power to give herself form even within the spirit realm.

Her lips trembling as she tried to hold back her tears, Kagome replied, "Yes, I understand."

Forcing herself to look up at the bound woman, the perpetrator of this child's painful imprisonment; Kagome no longer felt anger or resentment or hatred for her, only a deep sadness at how much she had sacrificed and how much she had lost. Somewhere in the time between the betrayal that had led to her first death and the abomination that had trapped her in her second, Kikyo had lost everything, even her soul.

But nothing could exist without a soul, not even something formed of dark magic. That was why Kikyo was forced to feed off the dead, taking their souls and making them her own. This spirit child was more than simply the girl that had died here; she had been bound to the undead miko, had become the soul where there had been none. To hear her words was more than to hear the pleas of the child so wronged here, but also of the one who could no longer speak for herself, who had so long ago been taken over by the dark magics that had ripped her away from her rest and thrown her back into the world of the living.

"You want this to end. You both want it to end."

The soft echo of the child's laughter was the only response to Kagome's words. Her message delivered, the spirit had once again faded into the shadows of the crypt, leaving Kagome alone to complete the task that had been asked of her. And as she looked upon the face of the undead, she knew with unquestionable certainty that she would be the one to put an end to this horror story once and for all.

"Kagome?"

The voice came from behind her, and Kagome turned quickly, squinting through the darkness beyond the chamber to try and focus on who it was that had spoken. Not being able to make out anything except for a vague outline of heavy shadow, Kagome pulled herself to her feet and moved closer. As she walked towards the other, they were walking towards her, their slow, hesitant footsteps scraping against the stone. When at last they had stepped close enough to the light being cast off by Tenseiga, Kagome froze in her tracks.

"Yuka!"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Yuka was disoriented, her mind filled with confusion not helped at all by the throbbing that was pounding through her head. She tried to shake away the dizziness that clouded her vision and made her unsteady on her feet, but it simply wouldn't leave her. Her limbs were groggy as though they had been saddled with some unnatural weight, refusing to obey her commands. She felt like a stranger in her own body, like everything around her simply couldn't be real. What she was feeling, what she was seeing; none of it made any sense to her.

She didn't know where she was, didn't know how she had gotten there, didn't know anything except that there was something terribly wrong. Her skin was crawling like she had just bathed in fetid waters, her limbs trembled like she had been left out too long in the cold, and her stomach was lurching as though she had just swallowed something that her body was trying desperately to expel.

But it was what she saw that made her blood still in her veins and her lungs tighten so painfully that she could no longer draw in air. Though blurry and distorted by the dizziness sweeping through her, ahead, through the darkness of this unknown place, in a light for which there was no source, she saw her friend. Deathly pale, her eyes closed and her features slack, her chest not rising to draw in air, and pinned to the stone by a ghastly blade; Kagome was there.

Staggering forward, each step painful and on uncertain limbs, Yuka made her way towards her friend. Her mind was too clouded to process what she was seeing, too filled with confusion to understand how wrong all of this was. All she could think was that she had to get to her, had to do something to help her.

The light grew with every step forwards she took, making her eyes blur with tears. She tried to blink past them, tried to see more clearly; but she couldn't. Still, she kept moving, desperate and determined to help her friend. Even through the fog of her vision and the painful throbbing in her mind, she could see how still the girl was and knew it wasn't natural. And the blade, the hideous thing that was holding her against the surface of the unforgiving stone, she could see it passing through her friend's body, could see the path it had taken to cut through her heart.

A wrenching sob broke out of her throat, the sound hoarse and strained through abused vocal chords. But still, she moved closer, stumbling against the stone, her whole body trembling with fearful anxiety and morbid disbelief. When she drew close enough, she lifted her hand from her side, reaching out towards the blade as though caught in a trance. Because she knew, somewhere she knew that the only way to save her friend was to release her. And she would not, could not leave Kagome here to die like this.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Yuka, NO!!"

Kagome hadn't been able to do anything but watch as her friend approached Kikyo's sealed form. Her voice wasn't being heard in Yuka's ears, her warnings swallowed up by the darkness of the crypt. But when she saw Yuka reach out and take hold of Tenseiga, she knew she couldn't stand by any longer. She would not let Kikyo be released again.

Dashing forwards, Kagome focused all of her power into pushing Yuka away, forcing her to release the binding Fang. Her magic surged when she came in contact with Yuka's body, but rather than being granted the power to push her away from Kikyo and the blade that bound her, Kagome passed straight through her friend, her momentum pulling her down to the floor.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Yuka hadn't been able to move the sword. No matter how hard she pulled or how much weight she leaned against the force, the blade simply wouldn't budge. She began to grow desperate, her clouded mind screaming out at her that she was running out of time, that Kagome was going to die if she didn't do something.

She poured everything she had into wrenching at the blade, wrapping both hands around it and bracing her footing to lean her entire weight into the effort. Her muscles were screaming out in protest from the strain, but she would not relent, she couldn't.

'_Kagome!'_ she cried desperately in her mind. She was terrified that she was going to fail; terrified that she would loose her. Tears streamed down her face and her body shook with heavy sobs; but she kept pulling, kept trying to free her friend.

Then, suddenly, all of her fear and desperation, all of the pain and grogginess that had been consuming her was wiped away. The trembling in her limbs, the clenching of her gut, and the dreadful shivers that danced across her skin were soothed and comforted by the warmth that suddenly filled every part of her. She drew in a startled breath, but it too was made easier, her lungs filling completely without being hindered by the tight constriction and labor that had plagued her only an instant before. Her vision cleared, as though a bright light had been ignited in the darkness surrounding her.

It was only then that she realized her error. Taking a shaky backwards step, the blade she had held slipped out of her startled hands to clatter down to the rocks below. But Yuka didn't hear it; she was caught staring unbelievingly into the eyes of someone she had thought was Kagome, but who she knew now was not.

The woman started laughing, the sound low and terrible, and Yuka shivered at the cold that spread through her because of it. "Who…who are you," she questioned weakly. But the woman only continued to laugh, filling the dark cavern with the hideous sound. Nervous and chilled by the strange woman's reactions, Yuka began backing away from her.

But her movements had caused the woman to react. Her movement was made unexpectedly and with such speed Yuka hadn't the time to even think to react. Before she knew it, the woman who had fooled her into thinking she was Kagome was holding her throat in her clammy hands, squeezing mercilessly until Yuka was left gasping and chocking for air.

"Call out to her," the woman bit out angrily. "Bring that miko imposter to me."

Yuka was terrified, but she understood what the woman was asking. She wanted her to call out to the real Kagome, wanted her to lead her friend into some kind of trap. But she wouldn't.

Forcing herself to stop her frantic struggling, Yuka locked eyes with the wretched woman. Her lip lifted in disgust, and she spit at her. "Fuck you. I'm not doing shit."

"Such impudence," the woman hissed out in fury, her grip tightening so forcefully that Yuka nearly blacked out from the strain. "You will call to her. You have no choice."

Pain. It ripped through her without mercy and without any way to stop it. It tore across her sense like wild-fire, searing and terrible; it felt as though she were being consumed from within. Not being able to help herself, Yuka threw her head back and screamed.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"YUKA!!"

Kagome clawed frantically at Kikyo's body, pouring all of her strength and all of her power into the attacks, desperate to find a way to release her friend. But no matter what she did, she couldn't reach beyond the spirit realm; her hands couldn't touch those in the land of the living. Even using her powers was to no avail. She was cut off, helpless to do anything but watch as her friend was being tortured and her life threatened by the walking dead.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"YUKA!!"

Kagome hadn't been the only one who heard her friend's scream, and when Eri had stumbled in to the cavern and saw Yuka dangling from the miko's hands, her body writhing in agony, and her voice being torn out of her in a horrendous screech; she reacted. She sprinted across the cavern without any more thought, throwing the weight of her body heavily against the one holding her friend.

Her sudden assault caught Kikyo off-guard, and the impact forced her to release her grip on Yuka as she staggered to catch her footing. Once she had steadied herself though, she looked up at the intruder. Her eyes were black like the shadows around them, filled with hatred and loathing. There was no compassion to be found there, no mercy; and she showed none as she lashed out against Eri, hitting her with a furious blast of energy that lifted from her feet and sent her flying to slam hard into the unyielding stone walls surrounding them.

"E…Eri…" Yuka was struggling to regain her feet. Her throat was bruised and swollen from the rough treatment and her body still aflame from the burning energies that Kikyo had forced through her, but the adrenaline surging through her veins gave her energy and her desire to help her friend gave her strength. She finally gained her feet and squared herself off against the wretched woman. "You will…pay for that," she rasped out hoarsely.

But Kikyo only laughed bitterly. "You can do nothing to me, girl. You are weak, helpless, and alone."

"Not alone." The new voice was accompanied by the high keen of a blade scraping across stone.

Kikyo scowled and turned to face her. "How pathetic," she scoffed. "Do you really think you have the power to wield that sword?"

Ayumi was trembling, the sword held in her hands shaking unsteadily as she held it out against the dead miko. Though she understood that the woman she was speaking with was not Kagome, there was a part of her that just couldn't be sure that her friend wasn't in there somewhere. It was Kagome's face, her body, everything. Only the eyes were different, so dark and so black, not the soft sapphire blue that was always lit with love.

"What are you waiting for, you wretched human!" a croaking voice bellowed from behind Ayumi. "Strike her!"

Kikyo's attention was immediately turned to the short, stocky form off the little imp. Her eyes narrowed dangerously in recognition. "You…"

His eyes bulging with anxious fear, Jaken bellowed with frantic urgency at the frozen girl. "Strike, mortal, before it is too late! You must!"

Ayumi whimpered in indecision. The little demon had saved her life after the cave-in. A rock that had shaken free in the burn of demon fires would have crushed her had he not pulled her to safety. He had told her that he only wanted to frighten them away from this place, that he had been left to ensure that no one ever reached the distant cavern buried in the stone crypt. There was no honor in killing young, defenseless girls, he had told her. He had no wish to see any more Hume children suffer as his once charge had in this terrible place.

But when Ayumi had told him about the spirit that had taken Yuka and led them here and the disappearance of Kagome, the toad had suddenly squawked in excitement, demanding to know everything about Kagome; what she looked like, the names of her friends, and most importantly if she was a miko. Ayumi hadn't understood, but still she had told the little toad everything. After all, he had saved her life. Though most of what she told him he had thrown away as useless, when she had mentioned the name of Kagome's boyfriend, Inuyasha, the toad had squawked again, saying that Kagome was the only one that could end the curse.

She still didn't understand, and the very thought of using a weapon against Kagome, no matter what state she was in, was appalling, unthinkable. Caught in indecision and confusion, Ayumi couldn't lift the blade.

_Strike!_ The command was whispered across her mind, a voiceless message carried to her on a sudden surge of heat that washed through her body. Almost of their own accord, Ayumi's hands steadied against the hilt of the sword and began to lift the blade. Light spread outwards from the flawless surface as she lifted it higher and higher in preparation to strike, and Ayumi looked on in awe.

"No!" There was panic in Kikyo's voice. She too had seen the Fang come to life again, and in its light she saw her imprisonment all over again. But she refused to go back to that repulsive existence, caught in limbo, unable to do anything but watch as the world slipped by around her. No. She would have her freedom. She would have her life!

Kikyo's arms lifted in a sharp gesture towards Ayumi, but before her attack could be completed, the girl was pushed awkwardly from its path by the small demon toad. And he, bracing himself strongly and determinedly against the onslaught, brought down his staff to slam into the stone and release an attack of his own.

Crimson fire burst out from the Staff of Two Heads, licking forward to collide with the searing bolts of energy being cast off by the undead miko. The two forces collided in an explosion of chaotic power, sending turbulent waves of it streaking in every direction, slamming into the stone and creating trembling vibrations in their wake.

But even in her unnatural state, Kikyo possessed far too much power for the little toad to ever hope to stand against alone; and her attack was steadily breaking through his defenses.

From the other side of the room, Yuka could see the little creature struggling to keep the fire burning. Though she didn't know who he was, couldn't even put a name on _what_ he was, she could see that in his own way he was trying to help them. And as far Yuka was concerned, anyone that wanted to fry this bitch was alright in her books. Deciding that she would help, Yuka threw herself at the undead miko, catching her arms and pulling roughly to draw them back from their attack position.

Only a moment of distraction was all Yuka could give. Kikyo hardly even paused in her attack to throw Yuka away from herself, her fury only magnifying the intensity of her attack against the little youkai facing off against her. Jaken cried out in anguish when her attack finally broke through the fires of his defense, his croaking voice muffled by a terrible gurgling as his little body was steadily being consumed by the blast.

But her anger had driven her, made her forget everything except for her target; and it would prove a fatal error.

Ayumi had pulled herself up after having been saved yet again by the strange little man. She had watched as Yuka attacked the miko, watched as she was thrown away, her body hitting the stone floor brutally. But to see the little youkai being steadily taken over by the dead miko's power, to hear him cry out in anguish; and Ayumi couldn't hold back any longer. With a wild cry, she lifted the blade of the sword and charged.

Hearing the girl's battle cry, Kikyo turned swiftly, just narrowly missing the sweeping arch cut by the blade. With trained grace, she righted herself, prepared to make a counterstrike before the girl could recover. But when she turned, it was no longer a simple mortal girl she was facing.

Tenseiga did not pierce Kikyo's undead flesh, but it did not miss in its strike.

Kagome had watched the unfolding events helplessly from the sidelines, but when she had connected with Ayumi, when she had whispered in her heart and guided her hands to life the Fang of Heaven, a new understanding was granted her. She understood how to pull herself away from the spirit realm she had been trapped in. She understood that the power lay in the blade that had cursed Kikyo's spirit to inhabit the same plane.

And so she placed herself in the line of Ayumi's attack, and as the blade cut through her, it called her back into the mortal plane. Now, instead of Kikyo throwing her power around against beings too weak to stand against them, she was coming face to face with the one from whom she had stolen her power.

No hesitation. No second thoughts. No mercy. Kagome lifted her hand, power surging through her entire being and focused to a pinnacle at the tip of her arrow, and she plunged it deep into Kikyo's unbeating heart. She didn't even have time to scream. But in her eyes, when they finally managed to focus on her, Kagome could see the understanding of what had happened, the knowledge that her time had finally come to its end.

What that end would entail, however, was not for Kagome to decide. "It is over," she whispered quietly, both to the woman held in her grasp and the spirits she could see rising up from the false body of clay, those released by the hand of purity. "May you rest in peace."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

With Kagome supporting Yuka's weight as she struggled with a sprained ankle, and Ayumi keeping Eri steady and awake through the dizziness she was suffering due to the concussion she sustained from her hard impact against the rocks; the girls made their way out of the crypt.

They had followed the secret passage Ayumi had been led down by the little youkai that had given his life to aid them. And before leaving the crypt, Kagome had said a prayer for Jaken as well before laying a gentle hand on his charred remains. Ayumi had shed tears for the little beast as she watched his body turn to glittering ash under Kagome's touch. Had it not been for him, they all might have died in this terrible place.

It was still night when they emerged from the underground chamber, but in comparison to the endless black of the crypt below, the night sky was brilliant when lit with the light of the moon and stars. All around them, the feeling of life had returned to world, such a welcome relief after spending so long in the clammy hands of death. The heavy mist that once had settled between the graveyard stones had cleared away, the haunting memories of this place laid to rest at long last and the land free once more from the curse.

They had nearly made it to the gates when a soft melody carried upon the breezes made Kagome pause and look back.

Standing on the crest of the hill in the centre of the graveyard, a lone figure stood watch. Not the stone angel that they had gathered around to tell their stories of fright and fiction; but a different kind of angel, the Angel of Death. The dark robes that had concealed him from her when they first met on this night had been pulled back, revealing the flashing silver of his hair that glinted with crystal light in the glow of the moon and the piercing gold of his eyes that could be seen even across the distance separating them.

A warm pulse from her side made Kagome look down to the fang that she had taken away from the crypt. She hadn't been able to bring herself to leave it behind, not knowing its power, not knowing its history. It was simply unthinkable to her that Tenseiga would be lost to the world, its light buried forever in the cold stone of that crypt. She knew that it didn't belong to her, knew that it was his hands meant to wield its power, and only his power which could make the sword sing its Heavenly song. Tenseiga was speaking to her again.

As it had in the crypt when it filled her with understanding, she could hear its voice whispering to her. It wanted to go home.

"Kagome?" In somewhat of a daze, Kagome turned to face Yuka. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "You just sorta spaced out for a minute there."

"Yeah," Kagome replied, blinking a couple of times to bring herself back to reality. "Will you be alright for a minute? I've got to…" Her words died on her lips when her vision shifted again to the hilltop. There was no one there, like he had just disappeared into the night. "Sesshomaru…?" She called his name hesitantly, all too aware of his abilities, and justifiably wary that she could no longer see him or detect his presence.

"Sesshomaru?" Yuka questioned strangely from her side. "Please tell me that there isn't something else out there. I don't think I can handle any more surprises tonight."

"Kagome?" Ayumi called her name in concern. Though she wasn't any more optimistic about finding another ghost or demon or anything that didn't involve getting as far away from this place as possible; she could see her friend's distress and was worried for her.

"I guess…it's nothing," Kagome replied hesitantly. One last time she looked to the crest of the hill, finding only the stone sentinel standing watch over the graves below. She knew he had been there. He had revealed himself purposefully. He must have. He had wanted her to see him, she knew it. Maybe, she thought, it was his way of saying thank you, of letting her know that he was grateful this horror had finally come to an end, as well.

Turning back to her friends, Kagome smiled at them. "Let's get out of here."

And they smiled in return, because that had been the best suggestion made all night.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, that's pretty much the end. I have one more chapter to write, but it's very short and rather pointless. Still, it's in the layout, so I might as well go with it.

About Kikyo. I'm not entirely sure I got the idea across with the full impact it was supposed to have. I mean, I get it, but that doesn't mean everyone else will. And, since spelling it out in plain language while I'm writing tends to be difficult for me, I'd rather say it here.

Tenseiga is lethal to the undead, but it can bring souls back to the living. By pinning Kikyo with the sword, Sesshomaru effectively trapped the soul held within Kikyo's body in the mortal realm. That soul, as you all know, was Rin's. But, at the same time, it was Kikyo's. I was trying to say that the dark magic that had called Kikyo to life by using Kagome's soul had corrupted what little was left of Kikyo's soul, destroying it almost completely.

The Kikyo that controlled the body was a mixture of dark magic and painful memories; but the soul itself was like a separate entity, one composed of both the spirit that she had fed on as well as whatever was left of her own soul. So, you've got 'bad' Kikyo, born of the dark magic; and 'good' Kikyo, residing in the borrowed souls of the dead.

Though the good side of her couldn't control the actions of the undead body, she managed to trick it into thinking that it could gain life by having a living soul surrendered to her. The fact that it was Sesshomaru she choose, because we all know how stupid that was, was what made Kagome realize that Kikyo wasn't really trying to find life, but freedom in her death. She wanted to die, and she thought that he would kill her for trying to manipulate him. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and because of her miscalculation regarding Sesshomaru's feelings for Rin, she was stuck in limbo for centuries until Kagome and her friends stumbled upon the crypt.

Get it? Good.

Wow…that was a really long Author's Note. Hehe, sorry about that, I had some things to get off my chest.

Meh, while I'm here, I might as well pose the question I've been asking myself for the past week or so. What story do I go to next? It's a toss up between 'Vying for Dominance' and 'Sins of the Father'. I've got ideas for both of them, but haven't actually set my mind on which one I would prefer to write. So, maybe some suggestions are in order.

Ok, I really need to wrap this up. So, later all.

Shadow


	14. A New Beginning

A New Beginning

_**-…tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…-**_

Releasing a deflated sigh of frustration, Kagome rolled over in her bed to glare angrily at the alarm clock on her bedside table. 4:00 am. She groaned miserably. This was ridiculous! She had been trying to get to sleep for almost two hours, and was getting nowhere. She was exhausted, her body ached, and her energy had been almost completely drained by her struggles in the crypt; but still sleep would not come to her, still she was lying there, awake and frustrated and completely unable to get her mind to slow down from its chaotic spin so that she could fall into her much needed rest.

Groaning again, Kagome flopped onto her back and hefted the covers up over her head. "This is not happening," she whispered dejectedly into the darkness.

She clenched her eyes shut tightly, retreating away from the world to the seclusion of her mind. But it was in her mind that the problem lay, there where her thoughts were spinning, whispering to her of possibilities, asking over and over the same questions, not caring that every time her response was the same.

No other way. There was no other way.

Unrelenting, her thoughts continued to plague her. She grew agitated, her jaw setting firmly in displeasure; and she tried to force herself to think of something, anything but what had happened on this night. But nothing she did could silence her thoughts. Always the same questions were repeated in her mind. What ifs and maybes, things uncertain, untried, and untested, theories of past and present, and voices, so many voices.

Finally, not being able to contain it anymore, she released a muffled scream of frustration and threw back her covers violently. She got out of her bed quickly, her motions deliberate and purposeful. A few short strides and she was standing in front of her closet. She threw open the door, not caring that it slammed hard into the wall behind it or that the sound of the impact was carried through the entire house in the still, silent hours of the not yet morning. Her eyes were fierce, the soft blues hardened and darkened by her anger and glinting sharply with moisture settled in them by her overtaxed body.

"You are the spawn of the devil!" she hissed out between clenched teeth at the seemingly innocent looking blade propped up against a pile of laundry stuffed in her closet. She was so completely frustrated that she was almost expecting the damned thing to answer her and agree that, yes, it was in fact the spawn of the devil, sent there with no more purpose than to deny her any sort of peace. Of course, it didn't. Tenseiga remained motionless, voiceless, and powerless as it lay in her closet space. But its silence only served to aggravate Kagome further, and at that moment in time, she was seriously contemplating if it was possible to kill something that wasn't even alive.

It was just sitting there, all innocent like, like it didn't have a care in the world, like it hadn't done anything to completely throw her life into disarray, like it was just a normal, non-life-giving, non-sanity-stealing, stupid piece of metal, or fang, or whatever.

"Gah!" Kagome cried in frustration. "I hate you!"

Her emotional expression had, obviously, stunned the sentient blade into silence. She glared murderously at it, her stance morphing into one of supreme annoyance; her arms crossed stiffly over her chest, her right hip sticking out slightly, and her foot tapping angrily on her carpeted floor.

"You think you can just walk in here, make these ridiculous demands, which," her rant paused for a moment as she shifted to bring an accusatory finger out and shake it reprovingly at the sword, "I will have you know I don't even think are possible. And you expect me to just do it? Ha! Like even! This plan of yours is so stupid I probably won't even make it back with my head on my shoulders, let alone with anything to show for the effort! What do you have to say to that, huh? Well…?"

She actually waited for a minute or two for a response; but, after realizing that it really wasn't coming, she hung her head and sighed heavily. "I am going to die," was the last thing she said before reaching into her closet and pulling the fang out from its resting place.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The sky was a stealy grey, faint streamers of light beginning to break over the horizon and wash away the midnight blues. The stars were winking out one by one, only the brightest still shining in the near-morning hours. The air was crisp, burning in her lungs as she breathed it in and flowing out again in plumes of white mist ahead of her; and despite being wrapped in several thick layers, Kagome shivered.

'_This is a terrible idea.'_ The thought kept repeating in her head. _'A terrible, horrible, awful, stupid idea._' She shivered again, but this time not from the cold.

A low rumbling from beneath her pulled Kagome from her disgruntled thoughts. She looked down and found Kirara looking at her curiously. Laughing nervously, she forced a tight smile. "No worries, Ki," she told her with false cheeriness. "I know what I'm doing."

It was a blatant lie, and Kirara huffed her disproval at the young miko before turning her sights forward again. Kagome sighed heavily. It wasn't like she wanted to drag Kirara into this mess, but she really didn't have any other options. She had a lot of ground to cover, and she needed to do it before Inuyasha realized that she had skipped out of her house in the middle of the night and set out for Kami knows where in search of someone she was pretty sure would sooner kill her on sight than listen to her speak.

It was a ridiculously dangerous and terribly stupid plan, she knew this; and if she had been thinking clearly, not aching, sore, and sleep-deprived, she was pretty sure she could have come up with a valid excuse to not set out on this mission that was likely doomed to failure. Of course, since she hadn't been thinking clearly, and the only clear thought she could manage to process was the one that had worked out this terribly stupid and dangerous plan, she found herself riding the firecat in the early hours of the not-quite-morning, heading in a Westerly direction, and keeping her senses on high alert for the presence of any powerful youkai.

She had been lucky, she supposed, in some twisted sort of bad karma way, that Inuyasha hadn't been in the village when she had crept through the cover of darkness to old Kaede's hut to retrieve Kirara. It didn't take a genius to figure out where the hanyou had gone, or, more specifically, to whom he had gone. It just seemed fated that wherever and whenever she went, Kikyo was going to be there as a constant reminder of all the darkest parts of her.

Of course, had Inuyasha been in village and not off with his dead lover, he probably would have managed to be, for what would have likely been the very first time in his life, the voice of reason against her stupidly dangerous and completely outrageous plan. But, since he hadn't been, and Kagome had been given a clear path to what she sought; she was here, riding the winds in the early not-quite morning with Kirara, and searching the lands for the very distinctive presence of Sesshomaru.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The sun had just crested over the horizon, filling the sky with a brilliant array of orange and yellow light, and bathing the land below in a warm glow that chased away the chill of the night. Kagome had been struggling to keep her eyes open, to keep her senses focused on what lay ahead; but she was drifting, the light of the morning putting to rest the nagging doubts and turbulent thoughts that had run rampant through her mind in the dark of night. Exhaustion was stealing over her, lulling her tired body to drift further and further from wakefulness, dulling and muddling her overused senses.

One minute and she had been struggling to keep herself from swaying precariously atop Kirara, and the next she was being startled awake by a pulsing surge coming from the sword strapped across her back. Blinking furiously to try and dispel the sleep from her vision, it took Kagome a minute to realize that the vast stretch of blue surrounding her on all sides was the soaring stretch of sky she was riding, and several moments longer for her to remember why she was there. But a second pulse from Tenseiga, stronger this time, managed to shake away the last traces of her confusion.

Honing her senses completely now, Kagome forced her vision to shift so that she could read the distinctive energy patterns given off by all living things. The land below began to glow with radiance in her mind's eye; each tree and shrub, each rock and plot of soil, each animal down to the smallest of insects, given new life in the light of her vision. But what burned brightest of all, a raging fire of the deepest crimson, was that of the youkai spirit.

She had found him; and by the searing heat she could feel tearing across her senses, she knew that he was aware of her presence and not pleased in the slightest.

Making a willful effort to stifle the nearly overwhelming urge to turn and flee in the opposite direction, Kagome focused her attention at coaxing Kirara from the skies. The cat hissed at her in warning, but Kagome soothed her gently with soft strokes against her flank, asking her in hushed tones to comply with her request. Though displeased with the course chosen by the young miko, eventually Kirara relented and began her descent.

Kagome was trembling with anxiety when Kirara finally touched down on the ground, her blood pounding so hard through her veins her head was throbbing with its near-deafening roar. Breathing was a willful act, each breath more difficult than the last as panic began to seize her lungs. Her thoughts were scattered, her reasoning distant and her purpose lost somewhere in the chaos. But if she knew one thing, it was that this was, by far, the stupidest idea she had ever thought up.

He was there, standing not twenty feet away from her, easily close enough to strike her down before she would even have time to react. All around him she could see the shifting fires of his spirit, separate from the form he had chosen, but a part of him none the less. Here, in this time and place, he made no effort to conceal himself, knowing full well she could see all of what others could not, intimidating her with simply the full knowledge of what he was and what he was capable of. It was terrifying. He was terrifying. Though a part of her knew that he was not her enemy, the greater part of her knew that she was most assuredly his.

Still, she knew she had come here for a reason, and she knew that to let him intimidate her in such a way would only make her position weaker than it already was. So, after promising herself she would never even so much as attempt doing something so outrageously stupid again, Kagome reached behind her to draw the blade she had strapped to her back. She watched him carefully the entire time, her eyes locked onto the piercing gold of his, trying desperately to convey without words that her reasons for being here were justified and that he must listen to what she had to say.

When she was holding Tenseiga out before her, and still he seemed to take no notice in the fang, she asked, "Can you see it?" If she understood her temporal theologies correctly, one object can not occupy the same space and time. The temporal distortions that would be created around such an encounter could potentially have devastating results. But she was uncertain if that meant that an object displaced by temporal rifts couldn't still be present in parallel with their counterparts.

The simplest answer for Sesshomaru, of course, would have been no. He had watched as the girl drew something from her possessions, but whatever it had been, it was obviously lost to his eyes. That simple fact had almost been enough to convince him to remove her presence before whatever concealed weapon she was holding could be put to use, but her question had given him pause. Why would she care to know if he could or could not see whatever item she apparently possessed? If it was meant to be a weapon, she was certainly destroying any potential advantage by revealing it to him in such a way.

Even more disturbing was the fact that this girl, this mortal priestess, had apparently sought him out specifically. And not only that, she had come alone, without the protection of her half-breed. It was curious; but then, this girl had always been something of a peculiarity. Her presence and motive had intrigued him, and though not willing to admit to such, his interest was clearly conveyed in his willingness to listen to her speak.

Kagome's lips twisted in annoyance at his lacking answer. Here she was, putting herself on the line for his sake, and the walking glacier couldn't even share a single word with her. She got it, she really did: he just didn't want to admit to not being capable of anything. But it was still damn annoying. She wondered absently if Sesshomaru knew how very much like his brother he was; and then caught herself from grinning wickedly when she realized how much such a comparison would piss him off.

Silence, Kagome decided, was worse for her nerves than any kind of sound, no matter how terrible. In silence, all she could hear were her own thoughts; and when caught in a stare-down with Sesshomaru, one's own thoughts are never anything good. She shifted nervously, trying to decide on her next course of action. Finally, after realizing that if she didn't do something soon she would likely be gutted where she stood, Kagome forced herself to speak.

"I know this is going to sound crazy. I actually have a hard time believing it most of the time. But please, just listen. I'm not from this time. I come from the future. And just last night, in that future, I saw you. Something terrible is going to happen in this past, and will affect your future. I came here because I want to try to stop that from happening. I don't know if I can. I don't know what kind of effect it will have on my future. But I do know that I can't live with the knowledge of what will happen and do nothing to stop it."

She took a slow step forward, shifting her grip on the sword in her hands so that its tip was pointed down towards the ground. Taking in a deep breath, she thrust it downwards, embedding the tip deeply into the earth. Lifting her hands away slowly, she brought them up before herself in a careful warding gesture, showing him she no longer held the blade. She stepped back, leaving the way to Tenseiga clear for him to approach.

"Let Tenseiga be your eyes," she told him. "Let it be its voice, not mine, which tells you the truth of my words."

The girl was correct, her explanation was rather far-fetched. Then again, her oddity in so many ways was difficult to define. He didn't believe her, of course; but that did not mean he was ready to dismiss the predictions of a miko so easily. Human or not, her spiritual powers could be quite formidable if applied properly, and Sesshomaru was well aware of this particular miko's connection to the augmenting power of the Shikon. Still, the future? Preposterous.

However, at her mentioning of Tenseiga, the fang at his side seemed to take more than a passing interest in the miko's words and pulsed strongly with the desire for its voice to be heeded. Almost absently, his eyes never leaving the anxiously shifting miko before him, Sesshomaru lifted his hand to rest across the hilt of the sword. The moment he touched it, Tenseiga pulsed again, its voice coming to him in a chaotic jumble, almost as though he were hearing two separate voices, two separate wills, both trying to speak to him at the same time.

Sesshomaru couldn't decipher the words or the meaning behind them, only a warning from the fang that something was amiss. His hand released the blade, clearing his mind of the chaotic voices, and focused once again on the miko. "What have you done to this Sesshomaru's Tenseiga?"

His words were conveyed with such cold fury that no mater what she did, Kagome couldn't keep herself from shivering as they cut through her. "Nothing!" she squeaked in protest. She was really, REALLY starting to regret her decision to come here. Sesshomaru was simply not the kind of guy…err…demon that someone like her should try to take on alone.

_Think!_ She needed to come up with a new plan, and she needed to come up with it quick. The fact that she could basically hear him growling at her in the angry vibrations of his aura was not helping matters at all.

_Wait a minute…Growling?_

Kagome gasped when she realized she had heard that sound before. Of course, then it had been given substance and form, allowed to be received freely by her ears instead of her mystical senses. But now…

"You can make yourself appear completely human by separating some of your Jaki from your physical body," she blurted out hastily. "It takes on the form of an Akita that follows by your side."

_Impossible._ She couldn't know that. He absolutely despised taking on that particular transformation. It was just repulsive to carry himself as one of those lowly creatures. Not to mention the fact that in doing so he released his control over the instincts of the beast, and the Akita form was free to act as it would. It was disorienting to try and be one mind in two bodies, and he was strongly against putting himself at any sort of disadvantage.

Kagome released a heavy breath of relief when she saw Sesshomaru's eyes widen in astonishment. She had just hit the jackpot. Of course, she wasn't about ready to ask if she could pet the pooch, but she was feeling much more comfortable talking with him now that he didn't look like he was about to kill her for even daring to be breathing in his vicinity.

With her confidence returning to her, Kagome risked stepping forward again to collect Tenseiga from where she had planted it in the ground. Sesshomaru watched her closely as she reset herself in a terribly awkward defensive stance, but Kagome had decided she would have to take this to the next level.

Taking in a deep breath, she spoke again. "I am holding Tenseiga, but the Tenseiga that belongs in my time. The temporal barrier created by the rift I created in bringing it here is keeping you from seeing it…I think." She shook her head. "I have no idea what will happen if Tenseiga crosses blades with itself, but somehow you must hear its message, you must know the time and place where this event is to occur. I don't have all the answers, but I know that it does. Please, I can't bare the thought of Rin going through that all again."

_Rin…?_ All of this…she was doing for the child? Of all she had told him in this exchange, that was the only thing he could easily accept. He had seen the miko go to great lengths, even put herself in harm's way, to protect those she cared about. And while he was convinced she would not be compelled to do such for himself, the Hume child was another matter entirely.

Determined to find the truth of the miko's words one way or another, Sesshomaru stepped closer to her, unsheathing Tenseiga as he did so. The chaotic voices of the fang returned, but he pushed them aside, refusing to listen to anything but his own thoughts. "If you attempt to deceive this Sesshomaru…"

Kagome's sharp laugh cut off his frigid warning. "You've got to be kidding me! I don't even feel safe talking to you, what makes you think I'm stupid enough to try and deceive you in any way?"

Sesshomaru was almost tempted to answer the wench. Sadly, it simply would have taken too long to reiterate the list of reasons why he would think this mortal would be stupid enough to do anything that he would find reason enough to kill her for. And, since he could see the miko was tensing in ready for an attack, he focused on supplying one.

Widening her stance, Kagome placed the blade of Tenseiga in the most obvious position she could think of for Sesshomaru to cross with his own sword. She had already been cut through by the fang once, and it was seriously not an experience she was looking to repeat. Whether or not it can cut you; there is just something so wrong with the sensation of having a sword pass through your body.

So she set herself hard against whatever was coming. She didn't know what to expect, didn't know what Sesshomaru was really planning or how Tenseiga would react when brought in contact with itself; but she knew that something had to be done, that she couldn't allow that future she had seen come to pass.

She was afraid, he could smell it on her; but still she held her ground, willful and determined. So many times he had seen this miko stand as such, with every part of her screaming out in anxiety, fear, and desperation; but still she would hold herself strongly, her will overcoming even the most paralyzing of her mortal emotions. Even against him. She had faced down his attacks, was willing to do so again, all because she believed she was in the right, because she believed she must.

Such a strange creature she was. It was almost a pity that he would have to dispatch of her once he gained the information he sought.

Not wasting any more time, Sesshomaru lifted the blade of Tenseiga and struck down at the little miko.

A terrible explosion followed, its devastation tearing into more than simply the land. Time and space was torn asunder, chaos erupting in its midst. Energies were fused and separated in the trembling, things of matter twisting and contorting, their forms blending in asynchronous vibrations.

Sesshomaru was thrown away from the fallout with such force he didn't even have time to correct before he was slamming into the ground. Everything was hazy in his mind. Thoughts and memories that were not his were somehow implanted there, spinning in the lasting chaos that had erupted from the rift they had created. They…Finding some semblance of independent thought, he recalled the miko. He pushed away from the ground, furious that she had succeeded in her attack against him.

But when he gained his feet and his eyes took focus beyond the contortions still rippling through the landscape, she was not there. No trace at all remained of the young miko, not even a trailing of her scent or that of her feline. It was more than that they had taken their leave, and more than something so surreal as they had vanished: it was as though they had never even been there.

As he searched, using all of his senses to try and understand what had transpired and where the miko had vanished to, the confusion in his mind began to clear away. Sesshomaru stopped searching then, his eyes still seeing but not as he realized that there was nothing to find. Because she hadn't been there, because she hadn't come to him on this day. She hadn't, because now he knew why she had come; and now he knew how to stop it.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"We saw the show, Kagome! It was incredible!"

The voice was like a clouded memory, but Kagome could hear it as clearly as though the words were being spoken again.

"Yes, you and your family really outdid yourselves this year."

Blinking hard to try and dispel the haziness corrupting her vision, Kagome strained to take focus. She could just barely make out the outlines of people around her, but somehow she knew these people, knew she had heard these voices. Her mind was in chaos, her thoughts scattered and impossible to process. But those voices, they kept coming, so familiar, the words like a memory from a dream.

"What I want to know is how you got your arrow to glow like that. I mean, I got the explosions and I could basically see you mother's stitch work on that 'Demon', but the arrow…"

Slowly the grogginess and hazy layer of confusion began to clear away, and Kagome found herself looking at her friends.

"Kagome?" Yuka asked, her voice carrying a hint of concern. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Kagome parted her lips to answer, but the only thing that came out was a strangled chocking sound before her body crumpled and she fell heavily to the ground.

"Kagome!" Yuka was at her side instantly, her arms reaching out to pull her friend away from the unyielding cement walkway at the front of the Shrine.

"What happened to her?" Eri asked anxiously from over Yuka's shoulder.

But Yuka only shook her head. "I don't know."

"I'm going to get her mother," Ayumi stated breathlessly.

"Unnecessary."

The deep voice caused the three girls to look up in shock. The man was standing above them, his tall frame forcing them to crane their necks from their crouched position. He was dressed, as they were, in an elaborate costume for the Shrine's performance; a long silver wig, cosmetic paint accenting his unnaturally pale features, golden contacts, and even a pair of elven ears. His clothing was of fine silk, flowing white interrupted by bright splashes of vibrant red.

"Who are you?" Yuka asked bluntly. She was not about to let some stranger tell her what kind of help her friend needed.

He, however, didn't even so much as blink in response to her tone, and replied unwaveringly. "I am Ms. Higurashi's doctor. She is prone to such collapses." He lifted an eyebrow curiously, somehow making Yuka feel very uncomfortable and incredibly foolish with only the simple gesture. "Should not her 'friends' be aware of her medical condition?"

"I…we…"

A sharp hand gesture from the man silenced Yuka's stuttering. "I will attend to Kagome from here." He kneeled down close to the fallen girl, pushing the others back with only a look before he collected her smaller frame to himself and stood with fluid grace. Once standing with Kagome held securely in his arms, he dismissed the other girls with a short nod. "Be on your way, girls. You may speak with her in the morning."

He turned from them and began carrying Kagome back to the shrine, but as he went, he called back to them. "Do try to avoid the graveyards tonight. You never know when you might find a restless spirit."

After the man had disappeared into the shrine, the three girls huddled together on the front walkway staring after him.

"That guy was creepy," Yuka finally managed to say.

"Do you really think he's Kagome's doctor?" Ayumi asked.

"And what did he mean about staying away from graveyards?" Eri added.

At that, Yuka shivered. It was creepy, beyond creepy that a stranger knew of her plans for the night. She shook her head sharply, because she really didn't want to think about it. "Whatever, you guys," she finally said. "Maybe we should just go home. We'll come and check on Kagome in the morning."

All nodding in agreement, the girls turned away from the Higurashi shrine.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A startled breath was pulled into her lungs, and Kagome bolted upright in her bed. She looked around the shadowy room in a daze, not understanding what had happened or how she had gotten there. Her head was pounding, the dizziness she had experienced earlier still not completely removed. But the confusion was more distant now, making it more bearable to be in her own mind.

Realizing that she was safe and sound in her own bed, Kagome began to calm. Her breathing evened out and her thoughts were slowly being organized from amidst the chaos. Her memory was still foggy, still missing bits and pieces that she knew should have been there; and with every moment that passed, they seemed to be slipping further and further away.

With careful motions, she pulled herself out of her bed, walking gingerly towards the window. She could still feel the heavy layers of her miko's garb against her skin, and there was a part of her that recognized the importance the garment had served on this night. But there was another part of her that couldn't remember, that hadn't been a part of this night, that hadn't seen the things that were held in her memory.

Reaching the windowsill, she leaned against it heavily to stare out into the darkness beyond. She remembered the darkness, remembered the terrible silence of the crypt; but at the same time she didn't, like she was both in that present and this at the same moment. The disorientation was terrible, but at the same time…

"It was worth it," she whispered into the night, hoping, praying that she had been right.

Turning away from the window, Kagome found her way back to her bead, and to her sorely needed rest.

- - - - - - - - - - -

On the street below the shrine, a man passed under the light of a streetlamp. At his side, his Akita walked faithfully with its master, though no leash was needed to tame this beast. The man was smiling to himself as he walked, and he nodded absently in agreement.

"Yes, it was worth it. It still is."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The End

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, that was fun. I know this chapter had a slightly different tone than the others, but….that's just sort of the way it turned out. I hope everyone enjoyed my little Halloween story. I know I did.

Anyways, I'm off for now.

Later all

Shadow


End file.
